The reasonableness of Christianity, as delivered in the Scriptures

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THE

REASONABLENESS

O F

CHRISTIANITT,

As Delivered in the

SCRIPTURES.

To which is added,

A Vindication of the fame, from
Mr. Edwards's Exceptions.

By JOHN LOCKE, Efq-,
The Fifth Edition.

L 0 N D O N:

Printed for A. Bettesworth and C. Hitch,
m Pater'no/Ier Row ; J. PEMBERTON,near
St. Dun ft an' s Church in Fket-ftreet^ and
E. Symon, in Corn'mll. J731.

T H

PRE

^^R^ HE little Satisfacii-
^tM onandCoiififtencythat
^^^^ is to he found in moji
of the Syjiems of "^Divinity I
have met ivith^ made me betake
my f elf to thefole Reading of the
Scripture (to zvhich they all ap-
peal) for the underficmding the
Chriftiun Religion.

U^hatfrom thence, hy an at-
tentive and unbiajjed Search I
A 2 have

The Preface.

loave received^ Reader^ I here
deliver to thee.

Ij hy this my Labour thou
receiveji any Light or Confir-
mation in the "Truths pin with
me in Thanks to the Father of
Lights for his Condefcention to
our Under jiandings.

If upon a fair and unpreju-
diced Examination^ thoufindeji
I have miftaken the Senfe and
^enor of the Gofpel, I befeech
thee J as a true Chriftian, in the
Spirit of the Go/pel (which is
that oj Charity) and in the
Words oj Sobriety ^fet me right
in the Doffrine of Salvation.

THE

THE

REASONABLENESS

O F

CHRISTIANITY,

As Delivered in the

SCRIPTURES.

IS obvious to any one v/ho
reads the New Teftamenf, that
the Dodrine of Redemption,
and conlequentlyof the Golpel,
is founded upon the Suppofi-
tion of Jdam's Fall. To underftand there-
fore what we are reilored to by ye/Jis
Chrijf^ wc muft cohfider v/hat the Scrip-
ture iliews we loft by Jdam. This I
thought worthy of a diligent and unhiaffed
Search : Since I found the two Extreams,
that Men run into on this Point, either on
A 3 the

6 The ReafoncihJenefs o/^Chrl{lianIty,

the one hand lliook the Foundations of all
Religion, or on the other made Chriftianity
almcii nothing. For whilft Ibme Men
would have all Adam's Poftcritv doomed
to eternal infinite Punifhment, for the
Tranlgreinon oi Adam^ whom Millions had
never heard of, and no one had authorized
to tranlad for him, or be his Reprefenta-
tive • this fecmcd to others ^o little con-
iiftent with the juftice or Goodnefs of the
Great and Infinite God, that they thought
there was no Redemption necellary, and
confequently that there was none, rather
than admit of it upon a Suppofition ^o de-
rogatory to the Honour and Attributes of
that Infinite Bemg ; and fo made Jefus
Chr'ifi nothing but the Rcftorer and Preacher
of pure Natural Religion ; tliereby doing
Violence to the whole Tenor of the 'Mew
7'cJIciment. And, indeed, both Sides will
be fufpeclcd to have trefpaffed this Way,
againfl the v/ritten Word of God, by any
one, who does but take it to be a Colledion
of Writings defigncd by God for the In-
ftruclion of the iUiterate Bulk of Mankind
in the Way to Salvation ; and therefore
generally and in necefiary Pcints to be un-
derftood in the plain dircd Meaning of the
Words and Phrafes, fach as they may be
fuppofed to have had in the Mouths of the
Speakers, who ufed them according to iha
Language of that Time and Country

where^

as delivered in the Scriptures. y

' V\^herein they lived, without fuch learned,
artificial, and forced Senlcs of them, as
are fought out, and put upon them in moft
of the Syftems of Divinity, according to
the Notions, that each one has been bred
up in.

To one that thus unbiafled reads the
Scriptures, what Adam fell from, is vifible,
was the State of perfed Obedience, which
is called J-ufticc in the New Tejlameut^
though the Word which in the Original
fignifies Jnftice^ be tranflated Kighteoiijhefs :
And by this Fall he loft Paradife, wherein
was Tranquillity and the Tree of Life, /. e,
he loft Blifs and Immortality. The Penal-
ty annexed to the Breach of the Law,
w^ith the Sentence pronounced by God upon
it, fhews this. The Penalty ftands thus,
GeiJ. ii. 17. In the Day that thou eatefi
thereof thou Jhalt ftirely die. How was
this executed ? He did eat, but in the Day
he did eat, he did not adtually die, but
was turned out of Paradife from the IVee
of Life, and fhut out for ever from it, kft
he JJjonld take thereof and live for ever.
This ilicws that the State of Paradife was
a State of Immortality, of Life without
End, which he loft that very Day that he
eat : His Life began from thence to fhortcn
and wafic, and to have an Knd ; and iVoni
tiicnce to his actual Death, was but like the
Time of a Prifoner between the Sentence
A 4 paft

S ^hi Reafonahknefs of Chrirxianity,

paft and the Execution, which was in View
and certain. Death then entered and
Ihewed his Face, which before was lliut
out, and not known. So St. Paul^ Rom.
V. 12. By one Mem S'tn entered hto the
IVorldy ami Death by Sin ; /. e. a State of
Death and Mortality.* And i Cor. xv. 11.
In Adam all die ; /. e. by, reafon of his
Tranfgreflion all Men are mortal, and come
to die.

This is fo clear in thefe cited Places,
and fo much the Current of the N^z£; "fefia-
rnent^ that nobody can deny, but that the
Dodrine of the Gofpel is, that Death came
on all Men by AdainsS'm ; only they differ
about the Signiiication of tlie Word Death.
For fome will have it to be a State of
Guilt, wherein not only he, but all his
Poftenty was fo involved, that every one
dcfcepided of him deferved endlefs Tor-
ment in Hell-fire. 1 ihall fay nothing more
here, how far, in the Apprehenfions of
Men, this confilts with the Juflice and
Goodnels of God, having mentioned it
above : But it feems a Grange Way of un-
derftanding a Law, vv'hich requires the
plaineft and direcleit Words, that hy Death
fhould be meant eternal Life in Mifery.
Could any one be fuppofed by a Law,
that fays, For Felony thou jhalt d'le^ not that
he fliould lofe his Life, but be kept alive
|n perpetual exquilite Torments ? And

woi^tc?

as delivered in the Scriptures. p

would any one think himfelf fairly dealt
with, that was fo ufed ?

To this they would have It be alfo a

State of neceflary Sinning, and provoking

God in every Adion that Men do : A yet

harder Scnfe of the \^ ord Death than the

otlier. Cjod fays, T^hat in the Day that

thou eateji of the forbidden Fruit, thou

(halt, die '^ i. e. thou and thy Pofterity ihall

be ever after uncapable of doing any thing,

but what {hall be finful and provoking to

me, and fhall juftly defer ve my Wrath

and Indignation. Could a worthy Man be

fuppofed to put fuch Terms upon the

Obedience of his Subjeds ? much lefs can

the Righteous God be fuppofed, as a Pu-

nilhment of one Sin wherewith he is dif-

pleafed, to put a Man under a Necellity

of finning continually, and fo mukiplying

the Provocation ? The Reafon of this

llrange Interpretation we fhall perhaps

find in fome miflaken Places of the New

7'efiament. I muft confefs by Death here,

I can underlland nothing but. a ccafing to

be, the lofing of all Actions of Life and

Scnfe. Such a Death came on yldafn,

and all his PofLcrity by his firil Difbbe-

dience in Paradife, under which Death

they fhould have lain for ever, had it not

been for the Redemption by Jefus ChriJI^

If by Death tlircatncd to jldam^ were

meant the Corruption of Human Nature

in

lo ^he Reafonahknefs ^/^Chiiftianlty,

in his Pofterity, 'tis ftrange that the New
^ijlament fhould not any where take No-
tice of it, and tell us, that Corruption
feized on all becaufe of Adani^ Tranf-
greffion, as well as it tells us fo of Death,
But as I remember every one's Sin is charged
upon himfelf only.

Another Part of the Sentence was,
Cnrfed is the Ground for thy Sake ; in Sor-
row Jhalt thou eat of it all the Days of thy
Life^ in the Sweat of thy Face (halt thou
eat Bread, till thou return unto the Ground :
For out of it waji thou taken ; Dufl thou
art, and to Dafi fhalt thou return. Gen. iii.
17, 15). This Ihcws that Paradife was a
Place of Blifs as well as Immortality, with-
out Toil, and without Sorrow. But when
Man was turned out, he was expofed to the
Toil, Anxiety, and Frailties of this mortal
Life, which Ihould end in the Duff, out of
which he was made, and to which he fhould
return ; and then have no moie Life or
Senfe than the Duji had, out of which he
was made.

As Adam Vv^as turned out of Paradife,
fo all his Pofterity was born out of it, out
of the Reach of the Tree of Life. All like
their Father Adam in a State of Mortality,
void of the Tranquillity and Blifs of Pa-
radife. Rom. V. 12. By one Alan Sin c;;-
tered into the J^Vorld, and Death by Sin.
But here will occur the common Objcclion,

that

as ckltvered in the Scriptures. 1 1

that fo many Humble at : How doth it
confift with the juftice and Goodnefs of
God, that the Pofterity of Adam lliould
fufFer for his Sin ; the Innocent be punilh-
ed for the Guilty ? Very well, it' keeping
one from what he has no Right to, be called
a Pim'ijhment, The State of Immortality
in Paradife is not due to the Poflerity of
Adam more than to any other Creature.
Nay, if God afford them a Temporary
Mortal Life, 'tis his Gift, they owe it to
his Bounty, they could not cLiim it as their
Right, nor does he injure them when he
takes it from them. Had he taken from
Mankind anything, that was their Right j
or did he put Men in a State of Mifery
worfe than not Being, without any Fault
or Demerit of their own ; this, indeed,
would be hard to reconcile with the No-
tion we have of Juftice, and much more
with the Goodnefs and other Attributes of
the Supreme Being, which he has declared
of himfelf, and Realbn as well as Reve-
lation mull: acknowledge to be in him ;
unlefs we will confound Good and Evi),
God and Satan. That fuch a State of ex-
tream irremediable Torment is worfe than
no Being at all, if every one's Senfe did
not determine againft the vain Philofophy,
and foolifti Metaphyficks of Ibme Men ;
yet our Saviour's peremptory Decifion,
Matt. xxvi. 24. has put it pall doubt,,.

that

1 2 7he Keajouahknejs of Chriftianity,

that one may be in fuch an Eftate, that it had
been better -for htm iwt to have been burn.
But that fuch a temporary Life as we now
have, with all its Frailties and ordinary
Mileries, is better than no Being, is evident
by the highValue we put upon it our feiyes.
And therefore though all die jn Adam^ yet
none are truly putiilhed but for their own
Deeds. Rotii. ii. 6. God ijo'tll render to
every one^ how ? according to his Deeds,
I'd thofe that obey Unrighteoujne/Sy Indigna-
tion and H&athy T'ribulation and Anguifi
upon every Soul of Man that doth Evil^ ver.
5). 1 Cor. V. I o. fVe miifl appear bejore the
Judgment-Seat of Chrifty that every one
may receive the fhings done in his Body^
according to that he has done^ ivhether it be
good or bad. And Chrifi himfelf, who
knew for what he fhould condemn Tvjen
at the lafi: Day, alTures us in the two
Places where he defcribes his Proceeding at
the great Judgment, that the Sentence of
Condemnation pafTes only on the P/orkers
of Iniquity^ fuch as negleded to fulfil the
Law in Ads of Charity, Matt. vii. 23.
Luke xiii. 27. Matt, xxv. 42. And again,
John v. 29. our Saviour tells the Jews,
that all jhall come forth of their Graves^
they that have done good^ to the Refurreciion
of Life^ and they that have done evily unto
the Re fur reef ion of Damnation. But here is
no Condemnation of any one, for what

his

as delivered in the Scriptures. 1 3

his Fore- father Jdam had done, which
'tis not likely fhoiild have been omitted,
if that fhould have been a Caiife, why any
one was adjudged to the Fire with the
Devil and his jlnzeh. And he tells his
Difciples, that when he comes again with
his Angels in the Glory of his Father,
that then he will render to every om accord-
itig to his fVorhs^ Matt. xvi. a/.

Adam being thus turned out of Para-
dife, and all his Poftericy born out of it,
the Confequence of it was, that all Men
fhould die, and remain under Death for
ever, and fo be utterly loft.

From this Eftate of Death Jefus Chrijl
reftorcs all Mankind to Life ; i Cor. xv. 22.
JiS in Adam all die^ fo in ChriJJ fhall all he
made alive. How this fhall be, the fame
Apoflle tells us in the foregoing v. ti.
By Man Death came^ by Man alfo came the
Refurreclion from the Dead. Whereby it
appears, that the Life, w hich Jefis Chrifi
rellores to all Men, is that Life, which they
receive again at the Refurreclion. Then
they recovered from Death, which other-
wife all Mankind fhould have continued
under, loft for ever, as appears by St. ^aiil'^
Arguing i Cor. xv. concerning the Re-
furreclion.

And thus Men are by the Second Adam
reftored to Life again : That io by Adam's
Sin they may none of them lofe any thing,

which

14 Tht Reafonahknefs c^Chrldianky,

which by thsir own RIghteoiifncfs they
might have a Title to. For Righteoufnefs,
or an exad Obedience to the La\v^, feems
by the Scripture to have a Claim of Right
to Eternal Life, Ro7n. iv. 4. fo him that
workcth^ i, e. does the Works of the Law,
is the Prewar d not reckoned of Grace ^ but
OF DEBf: And Rev. xxii. 14. Blejfed
(ire they 'ujho do his Commandment s.^ that
they may HAFE RIG Hf to the ^ree of
Life^ which is in the Paradife of God. If
any of the Pofterity of Adam were juft,
they fiiall not lofe the Reward of it, eter-
nal Life and Blils, by being his mortal
Ifliie : Chrift will bring them all to Life
again ; and then they (hall be put every
one upon his own Trial, and receive Judg-
ment, as he is found to be righteous or not :
And the Righteous, as our Saviour fays,
Matt. XXV. 4^. fiall go into eternal Life.
Nor fhall any one mifs it, who has done
what our Saviour directed the Lawyer,
who asked, Luke x. 25. What he fjjould do
to inherit eternal Life ? Do this., i. e. what
is required by the Law, and thou Jhalt
live.

On the other Side, it feems the unalter-
able Purpofe of the Divine Jufticc, that no
unrighreous Perfon, no one that is guilty
of any Breach of the Law, fliould be in
Paradife ; but that the Wages of Sin fliould
be to every Man, as it was to Adam, an

Ex-

as delivered w the Scriptures. 15

Exclufion of him out of that happy State
of Immortality, * and bring Death upon
him. And this is {lo conformable to the
eternal and eitablifhed Law of Right and
Wrong, that it is fpoke of too as if it
could not be otherwife. St. ya?nes fays,
chap. i. 15. SiUy when it is fnijhed, bring-
eth forth Death, as it were by a natural
and neceifary Produdion. Si?i entered into
the World, and Death by Sin, fays St. Paul,
Rom. V. 12. and vi. 23. 'fhe Wages of Sin
is Death. Death is the Purchafe of any,
of every Sin. GaL iii. i o. Carfed is every
one who continneth not in all I'hings which
are written in the Book of the Law to do
them. And of this St. Jatnes gives a Rea-
fbn, chap. ii. 10, 11. Whofoever JImII keep
the whole Law, and yet offend in one Point,
he is guilty of all : For he that faid. Do
not commit Adultery, faid alfo. Do not kill:
i. e. He that offends in any one Point, fins
againft the Authority which eftablifhed the
Law.

Here then we have the (landing and
fixed Meafures of Life and Death. Im-
mortality and Blifs belong to the Righte-
ous ', thofe who have lived in an exad
Conformity to the Law of God, are out of
the Reach of Death : But an Exclufion
from Paradife, and Lofs of Immortality,
is the Portion of Sinners, of all thofe who
have any way broke that Law, and fiiilcd

of

i6 The Reafonahkmfs of Chriilianity,

of a compleat Obedience to it by the Guilt
of any one Tranfgrcffion. And thus Man-
kind by the Law are put upon the IfTues
of Life or Death ; as they are Righteous
or Unrighteous, Juji or Unjufl \ /. e. Exad
Performers, or 1 ranfgrelfors of the Law.

But yet all having finned y Rom. iii. ^3.
mid come Jhoit of the Glory of Godj i. e.
the Kingdom of God in Heaven, which is
often called his Glory, both yews and Gen-
tiles, ver. 22. fo that by the Deeds of the
LaiJD no one could be jujiified^ ver. ao. ; it
follows, that no one could then have eter-
nal Life and Blifs.

Perhaps it will be demanded, Why did
God give fo hard a Law to Mankind, that
to the Apoftles Time no one of Jdarns
IfTue had kept it ? As appears by Rom. iii.
and Gal. iii. 21, 22.

Jnfd). It was fuch a Law as the Purity
of God's Nature required, and mull be the
Law of fuch a Creature as Man, unlefs
God would have made him a rational Crea-
ture, and not required him to have lived
by the Law of Reafon, but would have
countenanced in him Irregularity and Dif-
obedience to that Light which he had, and
that Pvulc which was fuitable to his Na-
ture ; which would have been to have
authorized Diforder, Confufion, and Wick-
ednefs in his Creatures. For that this Lav/
was the Laiv ofKectfon^ or, as it is called,

as delivered in the Scriptures. 17

of Nature^ we Ihall fee by-and-by : And
if rational Creatures will not live up to the
Rule of their Realbn, who fliall excufe
them ? If you will admit them to forfake
Realbn in one Point, why not in another ?
Where will you ftop ? To difobey God in
any Part of his Commands (and 'tis he that
commands what Reafon does) is dired Re-
bellion ; which if difpenled with in any
Point, Government and Order are at an
End, and there can be no Bounds fct to
the lawlefs Exorbitancy of unconfinedMen.
T'he Law therefore wasy as St. Paul tells
us, Ro?n. vii. 21. holy^ jufl^ and goody and
fuch as it ought, and could not otherwife
be.

This then being the Cafe, that whoever
is guilty of any Sin, iliould certainly die,
and ceafe to be, the Benefit of Life re-
ftored by Chrift at the Refurreclion would
have been no great Advantage, (forafmuch
as here again Death muft have feized upon
all Mankind, becaufe all had finned ; for
the Wages of Sin is every where Death,
as well after, as before the Refurreclion)
if God had not found out a W^ay to jufi:ify
fome, /. e. ^o many as obeyed anothet
Law, which God gave, which in the 'Mew
'tefament is called the Law of Faith y Rom*
iii. 27. and is oppofed to the Law of f Forks*
And therefore the Puniilimcnt of thofc who
would not follow him was to lofc their

B Souls,

iS j^ be Rea/omibkfjejj of ChnRhnity,

Souls, /. e. their Lives, Mark viii. ^^, 38.
as is plain, confidering the Occalion it was
Ipoke on.

The better to underftand the Law of
Fa'ith^ it will be convenient in the lirft
Place to confidcr the Law of Works. T'he
Law of Works then, in fhort, is that Law
which requires perfed Obedience, without
any Remiflion or Abatement ; fo that by
that Law a Man cannot be juft, or juftified,
without an exad Performance of every
Tittle. Such a perfed Obedience in the
I^fcw 7e/^ame?/t is termed ^za^oGouur,, which
we tranflate Kighteoufnefs.

The Language of this Law is, Do this
and live, tranfgrefs and die. Lev. xviii. 5.
Tc jhall keep my Statutes and my Judgment Sy
which if a Man doy he fhall live in them.
Ezck. XX. II. I gave ther/i ?ny Statutes, and
/hewed thetn my Judgments^ which if a Man
do, he fhall even Vive in them. Mofes, fays
f^t. Paul, Rom. x. 5. ' defcribeth the Righte^
otifnefs which is of the Law, that the Man
zvhich doth thofe things fhall live in them.
Gal. iii. 12. The Law is not of Faith, but
that Man that doth them fljall live in them.
On the other Side, tranfgrefs and die ; no
Difpenfation, no Atonement. Ver. 10.
Curfed -is every one that continueth 7Wt in all
ithings which are written in the Book of the
Law, to do them.

Where

as delivered in the Scriptures. i^

Where this Law of Works was to be
found, the ISlew T'ejiament telJs us, {viz.)
in the Law delivered by Mofes. John i.
17. 'The Law was given by Mofes, but
Faith and Truth came by Jefus Chrift. Chap,
vii. i^. Did not Moles give you the Law^
fays our Saviour, a}jd yet none of yoa keep
the Law ? And this is the Law which he
fpeaks of, where he asks the Lawyer,
Luke X. 26^. What is written in the Law ?
How readejl thou ? ver. 28. This do^ and
thou fJjalt live. This is that which St.
Paul fo often ftiles the Law.^ without any
other Diftinclion, Rom. \\. 13. "Not the
Hearers of the Law are juf bejore Gody
but the Doers of the Law are juftifcd. 'Tis
needlefs to quote any more Places, his
Epiftles are all full of it, efpecially this
to the Romans,

But the Law given by Mofes being not
given to all Mankind, how are all Men
Sinners, fince without a Law there is no
Tranfgreflion ? To this the Apoftle, ver, 1 4,
anfwers, For when the Gentiles.^ which have
not the Law, do ^i. e, find it reafonable to
do) hy Nature the Things contained in the
Law \ theje having not the Law, are a Law
unto therrfelves : Which fJjcw the H'ork of
the Law written in their Hearts, their Con^
fciences aJfo bearing witnefs^ and amongfi one
another their Thoughts accufing or excufng.
By v/hich, and other Places in the follow-
B 2. xng.

20 7" he Reafonahlenefs o/' Chiiftianky,

ing Chapter, 'tis plain, that under the Law
of Works is comprehended alfo the Law
of Nature, knowablc by Reafon, as well
as the Law given by Mojes. ¥oi\ fays St.
P a III ^ Rom. ill. ^, 23. we have 'proved both
yews and Gentiles^ that they are all tinder
Sin : For all have Jinmd^ and come Jljort of
the Glory of God: Which they could not
do without a Law.

Nay, whatever God requires any where
to be done without making any Allow-
ance for Faith, that is a Part of the Law
of Works. So the forbidding ^dam to eat
of the Tree of Knowledge, was Part of
the Law of Works. Only we muft take
Notice here, that Ibme of God's pofitive
Commands being for peculiar Ends, and
fuited to particular Circumftances of Times^
Places, and Perfons, having a limited and
only temporary Obligation by virtue of
God's pofitivc Injunction \ fuch as was that
Part of Mo/es's Law which concerned the
outward Worlhip or Political Conftitution
of the jfezvs^ and is called the Ceremonial
and Jadaical Law^ in Contradiftinclion to
the moral Part of it ; which being con-
formable to the eter«al Law of Right, is-
of eternal Obligation, and therefore re-
mains in force llill under the Golpel \ nor
is abrogated by the Law of Faith ^ as ^l.
''Paul found fome ready to infer, P^om. iii. 5 1.
1)0 we then nvake void the Law through

Faith ^

as delivered In the Scriptures. 2 1

Faith ? God foirhid ; yea, we eJIahUJJj the
Law.

Nor can it be otherwifc : For were there
no Law of fPorks^ there could be no Laza
of Faith. For there could be no need of
Faith, which fhould be counted to Men
for Righteoufnefs, if there were no Law
to be the Rule and Meafure of Rightcoul-
nefs, which Men failed in their Obedience
to. Where there is no Law, there is no
Sin ; all are Righteous equally with or
without Faith.

The Rule therefore of Right is the fame
that ever it was, the Obligation to obferve
it is alfo the fame : The Difference between
the Law oflVorhs and the Lazu of Faith is
only this • that the Law of PVorks makes
no Allowance for failing on any Occafion.
Thofe that obey, are Righteous, thole thai
in any Part difobey, are Unrighteous, and
muft not exped Life, the Reward of
Righteoufnefs. But by the Law of Faith.,
Faith is allowed to fupply the Defed of
full Obedience ; and lb the ]')elievers are
admitted to Life and Immortalitv, as if
they were Righteous. Only here we mull
take Notice, that when St. Paul fays, that
the Gofpel eftablilhes the Law, he means
the moral Part of the Law of Mvfes : For
that he could not mean the Ceremonial or
Political Part of it, is evident by what I
quoted out of him jufl now, where he

B 3 lays,

n a The ReafotiahJenefs of Chriftlanity,

fays, The Gentiles that da hy "Mature the
'Things contained in the Law, their Confci-
ences hearing witnefs. For the Gentiles
neither did nor thought of the Judaical or
Ceremonial Inftitutions oiMojes \ 'twas only
the moral Part their Confciences were con-
cerned in. As for the reft, St. Paul tells
the GalatianSj chap. iv. they are not under
that Part of the Law, which ver, 3. he
calls Elements of the fVorld'^ and ver. p.
weak and beggarly Elements, And our Sa-
viour himfelf, in his Goipel-Sermon on the
Mount, tells them, Matt, y.ver. 17. that
whatever they might think, he was not
come to dijfolve the LaWy but to make it
more full and fir id ; For that that is meant
by TrAxi^cy^c?/, is evident from the following
Part of that Chapter, where he gives the
Precepts in a ftrider Senfe than they were
received in before. But they are all Pre-
cepts of the moral Law which he reinforces:
What fr.ould become of the ritual Law he
tells the Woman of Sa7naria in thefe Words,
John iv. 21, 23. T'he Hour coraeth 'when
ye fijall neither in this Mount ain, nor yet at
Jerufalem, worJJjip the Father, But the
true JFurJhippers fhall vjorflftp the Father in
Spirit and in 'Truth, for ibe Father Jeehet^
fuch to hnjorjhip him.

Thus then as to the Law in fhort : The
Civil and Ritual Part of the Law delivered
by Mifes obliges not Ghriftians, though to

the

as delivered in the Scriptures. 23

the Jews it were a Part of the Law of
Works ; it being a Part of the Law of
Nature, that Man ought to obey every
pofitive Law of God, whenever he ihall
pleafe to make any luch Addition to the
Law of his Nature. But the moral Part
of Mofes's, Law, or the Moral Law, (which
is every where the fame, the eternal Rule
of Right) obliges Chriftians and all Men
every where, and is to all Men the ftand-
ing Law of Works. But Chriftian Be-
lievers have the Privilege to be under the
Laiv of Faith too ; which is that Law
whereby God juftifics a Man for Believing,
though by his W^orks he be not Juft or
Righteous, /. e. though he came Ihort of
perfect Obedience to the Law of Works.
God alone does, or can juftify or make
juft thole who by their Works are not fo ;
which he doth by counting their Faith for
Righteoufnefs, /. e. for a compleat Per-
formance of the Law. Rojn. iv. 3. Abra-
ham believed Gody and it zvas counted unto
him for Righteoufiiefs. Ver. 5. To him
that believeth on him that jajiifeth the Un^
god/j\ his Faith is counted for Righteoiifmfs^
Ver. 6. Even as David alfo dejcriheth the
Blejpdnefs of the Man unto whom God itn-^
fiiteth K'tghtcoujiiefs without /'Forks ; i. e,
without a full Meafure of Works, which
is exact: Obedience. Ver. 7. Saying, B/eJ/id
are they whofe Inipiittes are for given ^ and

B 4 whofi

^4 ^'^'^ Recifonahlenefs ^'Chriftianity,

""johofe Stns are covered. Ver. 8. Blejpd is
the Man to whom the Lord will not impute
Sin.

This Faith for which God juftified Ahra-
ham^ what was it ? It was the believing
God when he engaged his Promife in the
Covenant he made with him. This will
be plain to any one who confiders thele
Places together, Gen. xv. 6. He believed in
the Lvrd^ or believed the Lord : For that
the Hebrew Phrafe believing in^ fignifics no
Hi ore but believing.^ is plain from St. Paul*s
Citation of this Place, Rom. iv. j. where
he repeats it thus : Abraham believed God,
which he thus explains, ver. i8, 22. ^"^ho
agaitijl Hopey believed in Hope^ that he might
heco?ne the Father of many Nations : Ac^
cording to that which was fpoken^ fo fiall
thy Seed be. And being not weak in Faith^
h& confidered not his own Body now deady
when he was about an hundred Tears oldy
nor yet the Deadnefs of Sarah'j Womb. He
P agger ed not at the '^Piomife of God through
Unbelief'^ but was ftrong in Faith y giving
Glory to God : Jnd being fully perjuadedy
that what he had pyomijed he was alfo abk
to perform. And therefore it was imputed
to him for RighteouJheJ's. By which it is
clear, that the Faith which God counted
to Abraham for Righteoufnefs, was nothing
but a firm Belief of what God declared
to him, and a ftedfaft Relying on him foi

the

as del'wered in the Scriptures. 25

the Accomplifhment of what he had pro-:-
mifed.

Now tbisy fays St. ^ai/l, ver. 23, 24.
•was not writ for his [Abraham'j-] Sahe
aJone, but for us alfo ; teaching us, that as
Abraham was juftified for his Faith, fo aUb
ours Ihall be accounted to us for Righte-
oufnefs, if we believe God as Jbraham be-
lieved him. Whereby 'tis plain is meant
the Firmnefs of our Faith without fiagger-
wgy and not the believing the fame Propo*
fitions that Abraham believed, viz. that
though he and Sarah were old, and paft
the Time and Hopes of Children, yet he
Ihould have a Son by her, and by him be-
come the Father of a great People, which
ihould poiTels the Land of Canaan. This
was what ^Z'/'^^j;« believed, and was count-
ed to him for Righteoulnefs : But nobody
1 think will fay, that any one's believing
this now, fhall be imputed to him for
Righteoulnefs. The Law of Faith then,
in fhort, is for every one to believe what
God requires him to believe, as a Condition
of the Covenant he makes with him, and
not to doubt of the Performance of his
Promifes. This the Apoftle intimates in
the Clofe here, ver. 24. But for us alfo^ tck
whom 'it f hill he imputed^ if %ve bdleve on him
that raffed np Jefus our Lord from the Dead.
We muft therefore examine and fee what
God requires us to believe now under the

Revelation

26 The ReafonabUnefs of Chriftianity,

Revelation of the Gofpel ; for the Belief
of one invifible, eternal, omnipotent God,
Maker of Heaven and Earth, &c. was re-
quired before, as well as now.

What we are now required to believe to
obtain eternal Life, is plainly fet down in
the Gofpel. St. John tells us, John iii. "^6.
He that helieveth on the Son^ hath eternal
Life ; and he that heVteveth not the Son^
jhaJl not fee Lfe. What this believing on
Mm is, we are alfo told in the next Chapter.
T'he Woman faith unto him^ I know that
the Mefftah cometh : JVhen he is come^ he
will tell us all things, Jefus faid unto her,
I that fpeah tinto thee am he. T'he Woman
then went into the City, and faith to the
Men, come fee a Man that hath told me all
things that ever I did. Is not this the
Meffiahl And many of the Samaritans he-
lieved on him ^ for the Saying of the Woman,
who tefiified, he told me all that ever I did.
So when the Samaritans were come unto him,
many more believed becaife oj his Words,
and faid to the Woman, We believe not any
longer becauje of thy Saying, for we have
heard our fives, and we know that this Man
is truly the Saviour of the World, the Mefftah,
John iv. 25, z(>, 1^, 3j?, 40, 41, 42. ^

By which Place it is plain, that believing
on the Son^ is the believing that Jcfus was
the Mejfodo ; giving Credit to the Miracles
he did, and the Profellion he made of

himfelf

cis delivered in the Scriptures. ^y

himfelf. For thofe who were faid to
BELIEVE ON HIM for the Saying
of the Woman, ver. 3^. tell the Woman,
that they now believed not any longer be-
caufe of her Saying ; but that having
heard him themlelves, they knew, /. e,
BELIEVED pad doubt THAT HE
WAS THE MESSIAH.

This was the great Propofition that was
then controverted concerning Jefas of Na-
zaretby whether he was the Meffiah or no ;
and the Aflent to that, was that which
diftinguifned Believers from Unbelievers.
When many of his Difciples had forfaken
him, upon his declaring that he %vas the
Bread of Life which came down from Hea-
ven, be faid to the j^fofiks^ Will ye alfo
go away ? nen Simon Peter aiifwcred him ;
Lerd^ to whom j]?all we go ? Thou hafl the
JVords of eternal Life : y4nd zve believe^
and are fiire thou art the Meffah^ the Son
of the living God, John vi. 6p. This was
'the*Faith which diflinguifhed them from
Apoftates and Unbelievers, and was fuffi-
cient to continue them in the Rank of
Apoftles : And it was upon the fame Pro-
pofition, That Jefus was the Meffiah, the
Son of the living God, owned by St. Peter,
that our Saviour faid he would build his
Church, Matt. yvI. 16, 18.

lb convince 'Mew of this, he did his Mi-
racles ; and their Aifent to, or not ai^entin^

to

a 8 ^be Keajonahlenejs ^ Chriflianity,

to this, made them to be, or not to be of
his Church ; BeHcvers, or not Believers.
^he Jews came round about him^ and /aid
unto him^ How hfig doji thou make us doubt ?
If thou be the Meffiah^ tell us plainly, Jeliis
anjwered them ; / told yoti^ and ye believed
not : 7" he M^orks that I do in my Father's
Namey they bear witmfs of me. But ye
believe noty becaufe ye are not of my Sheep^
John X. 24, 16, Conformable hereunto
St. John tells us, That many Deceivers are
entered into the jVorld^ who confefl not that
Jefus, the Mejjiah^ is come in the Flefh,
'fhis is a Deceiver and an Antichrifi^ who^
foever abideth not in the Do^rine of the
Mefftah has not God, He that abideth in
the Do^fim of the Meffiahy i. e. that jfef/s
is he, hath both the Father and the Son^
1 John vii. 5>, 10. That this is the Mean-
ing of the Place, is plain from what he
fays in his foregoing Epiftle, IVhofoever
heUeveth that Jefus is the Meffiahy is born
vfGody I John V. i. And therefore draw-
ing to a Clofe of his Golpel, and fhewing
the End for which he writ it, he has thefe
Words : Many other S^gns truly did Jefus
in' the Prefence of his Difciplesy zvhicb are
not written in this Boohy but thefe are writ-
ten ^ that ye may believe that Jefus is the
Meffiahy the Son of God ; and that believing
\e might have Life through his Name y John
xx. 30, 3i» Whereby it is plain, tliat

the

as delivered in the Scriptures. 1^

the Gofpel was writ to induce Men into a
Belief of this Propofition, that Jefus ef
Nazareth was the Meffiah ; which if they
believed they ftiould have Life,

Accordingly the great Qucftion amongft:
the 'Jews was, whether he were the Meffiah
or no : And the great Point infilled on and
promulgated in the Gofpel was, that he
was the Meffiah. The lirft glad Tidings
of his Birth, brought to the Shepherds by
an Angel, was in thefe Words : Fear 7Wt,
for behold I bring you good 'Tidings of great
Joy^ which foall be to all People ; jor to
you is born this Day in the City of David a
Saviour y who ii the Meffiah^ the Lord^ Luke
ii. II. Our Saviour dilcourfing with Mar-
tha about the Means of attaining eternal
Life, faith to her, John xi. 27. Whofoever
believeth in me^ foall never die. Believejl
thou this ? She faith unto him^ Tea^ Lord^
I believe that thou art the Meffiah^ the Son
of Gody zvhich fhould come into the World,
This Anfvver of hers fheweth what it is to
believe in Jefus Chri/i^ fo as to have eter-
nal Life, viz. to believe that he is the
Meffiah the Son of God, whofe coming
was foretold by the Prophets. And thus
Jlndrtw and Philip exprefs it : Andrew
fays to his Brother Simon, }Ve have found-
the Meffiahy which is^ being interpreted^
the Chrijl. Philip faith to Nathaniel, we
have found him of whom Mofcs in the Law.,

and

30 The Reafonahkiiefs ^Ghriftianity,

and the Prophets did write ^ Jefus of Na-
zareth, the Son of Jofeph, John i. 41, 45.
According to what the Evangel Ift lays in
this Place, I have, for the clearer under-
ftanding of the Scripture, all along put
Meffiah for Chrifi : Chrifl being but the
Greek ISiame for the Hebrew Mejfiah^ and
both fignifying ^he Anointed,

And that he was the Mejjtah^ was the
great Truth he took pains to convince his
Difciples and Apoflles of j appearing to
them after his Refurredion : As may be
feen, Luke xxiv. which we fhall more par-
ticularlv confider in another Place. There
we read what Gofpcl our Saviour preached
to his Difciples and Apoftles ; and that, as
foon as he was rifen from the Dead, twice
the very Day of his Refurredion.

And if we may gather what was to be be-
lieved by all Nations, from what was preach-
ed unto them ; we may certainly know
what they were commanded. Matt. ult.
To teach all Nations, by what they adually
did teach all Nations \ we may obferve,
that the Preaching of the Apoftles every
where in the Ath tended to this one Point,
to prove that Jefus was the MeJJiah. In-
deed, now after his Death, his Refurredion
was alfo commonly required to be be-
lieved as a neceffary Article, and Ibme-
times folely infiftcd on ; It being a Mark
and undoubted Evidence of his being the

as delivered in the Scriptures. 3 1

Mefftahy and neceffary now to be believed
by thofe who would receive him as the
Mejftah. For iince the Mejfiah was to be
a Saviour and a King, and to give Life
and a Kingdom to thofe who received
him, as we Ihall fee by-and-by, there could
have been no Pretence to have given him
out for the Mejfiah^ and to require Men to
believe him to be fo, who thought him
under the Power of Death, and Corruption
of the Grave. And therefore thofe who
believed him to be the MeJJiahy muft be-
lieve that he was rifen from the Dead:
And thofe who believed him to be rifen from
the Dead, could not doubt of his being the
MeJ/iah, But of this more in another Place.

Let us fee therefore how the Apoftles

preached Chrift, and what they propofed

to their Hearers to believe. St. 'Teter at

Jerufalem^ A^h ii. by his firft Sermon,

converted Three Thoufand Souls. What

-^was his fVord^ which as we are told, z;. 41.

they gladly received^ and thereupon were

bapttjed ? That may be feen from v. 22,

toz;. ^6. In Ihort this, which is the Con-

clufion drawn from all that he had faid,

and which he prefles on them as the

Thing they vv^ere to believe, viz. ^here^

fore let all the Houfe 0/ Ifrael know ajjiiredly^

that God hath made that fame Jeftis^ whom

ye have criicifed^ Lord and Mejfiah ^ ver. ^6.

To the fame Purpole was his Difcourfe

to

52 'the Reajhiahknefs of Ghriftianlty,

to the Jews in the Temple, A^s iii. the
Defign whereof you have, v. i8> But
thofe things that God before had f jewed by
the Mouth of all his Prophets^ that the
Mefjiah jhould fuffer^ he hath fo fulfilled.

In the next Chapter Atis iv. Peter and
John being examined about the Miracle on
the lame Man, profefs it to have been done
in the Name of Jelus of Nazareth^ who was
the Meffiah^ in whom alone there was Salva-
tion, z;. 10, 1 2. The fame thing they confirm
to them again, A[isN, 251, 32. And daily In
the Temple^ and in every Houfe they ceafed not
to teach and p-eachjefus theMeffiahy ver. 42.
What was Stephen's Speech to the Coun-
cil, ABs vii. but a Reprehenfion to them,
that they were the Betrayers and Murder-
ers of the Jufl one ? Which is the Title by
which he plainly defigns the MeJJtah, whole
Coming was fore-fhewn by the Prophets,
v» 51, 52. And that the yi/^<;/>^ was to be
without Sin (which is the Import of theWord
Juft) was the Opinion of the Jews, appears
from John ix. v. 22. compared with 24,

A^is viii. Philip carries the Gofpei to
Samaria, then Philip went down to Samaria,
and preached to them. What was it he
preached ? You have an Account of it in "
this one Word,- the MeJJiahy ver. j. This
being that alone which was required of
them, to believe that Jefus was the Mejjmh y
which, when they believed, they were

bap-

> as delivered tn the Scriptures. 33

baptized. And when they believed Philip^j
Preaching the Gofpel of the Kingdom of Gody
and the t^ame of Jefiis the Mejfiah^ they
were baptized both Men and JVomeUy
ver. 12.

Philip being fent from thence, by a
fpecial Call of the Spirit, to make an
eminent Convert, out of Ifaiah preaches
to him Jefus, ver. '^^. And what it was
he preached concerning Jefas^ we may
know by the Profeffion of Faith the Eu-
nuch made, upon which he was admitted
to Baptifm, ver, 37. / believe that Jefus
Chriji is the Son of God : Which is as much
as to fay, I believe that he, whom you
Q2\\ Jefus Chriji^ is really and truly the
MeJJtah that was promifed. For that be-
lieving him to be the Son of God, and to
be the Mefftah, was the fame Thing, may
appear by comparing John i. 45. with ver.
4^. where Nathanael owns Jefus to be the
Meffiah in thefe Terms : T'hou art the Son
of God '^ T'hou art the King o/' Ifrael. So
the Jews, Luke xxii. 70. asking Chrifl,
whether he w^re the Son of God ; plainly
demanded of him, whether he were the
Mejftah ? Which is evident by comparing
that with the three preceding Verfes.
They ask him, ver, 6'j. whether he were
the MefjUah ? He anfwers, ]j I tell you,
you w}jLnot believe \ but withal tells them,
that'from henceforth he Ihould be in Pof-
C lellion

54 The Reafondblemfs (j/'ChriuianLty,

feflion of the Kingdom of the Mejfiah^ ex-
pre (Ted in thefe Words, ver. 6 p. Hereafter
jhall the Son of Man fit on the right Hand
of the Tower of God: Which made them
all cry out, ^rt thou then the Son of God?
i. e. Dofl: thou then own thy felf to be the
Mfjidh? To which he replies ; Te Jay that
I am. That the Son of God was the known
Title of the Mefjiah at that time amongft
the Jews, we may fee alfo from w^hat the
Jews fay to Pilate^ John xix. 7. We have
a Law, and hy our Law he ought to die,
hecaufe he made hmfelf the SON OF
GOD', i. e, by making himfelf the
Meffiah, the Prophet which was to come,
but falfly ; and therefore he deferves to
die by the Law, Deut. xviii. 20. That
this was the common Signification of the
Son of God, is farther evident from what
the Chief Priells, mocking him, faid,
when he was on the Crofs, Matt, xxvii.
42. He faved others, himfilf he cannot fave:
If he he the King of Ifrael, let him now
come down fro?n the Crofs, and we will be-
lieve him. He trufled in God, let him de-
liver him now, if he will have him ; for he
faid, I am the SON OF GOD', i. e. he
faid, he was the ¥kfftah : But 'tis plainly
falfe ', for if he were, God would deliver
him : For the Mejftah is to be King of
Ifrael, the Saviour of others ; but this
Man cannot fave himfelf. The Chief

Priefts

••*

as delivered In the Scriptures. 35

Priefts mention here the two Titles then
in Uie whereby the Jews commonly de-
figned the Meffiahy viz. Son of God^ and
King of Ilrael. That of Son of God, was
fb familiar a Compellation of the Meffiah^
who was then fo much expeded and talked
of, that the Romans it feems, who lived
amongft them, had learned it; as appears
from ver, 54. l^Jow zvhen the Centur'wny
and they that were with him, watching
Jefus, faw the Earthquake, and thoje things
that were done, they feared greatly, fiyingy
'truly this was the SON OF G 0 D '^
this was that extraordinary Perfon that
was looked for.

y^cfs ix. St. 'T^aul exercifing the Com-
miffion to Preach the Gofpel, v/hich he
had received in a Miraculous Way, ver. 20.
Straitway preached Chrifl in the Synagogues y
that he is the Son of God ; /. e. that Jefus
was the MeJJtah'. For Chrift in this Place
is evidently a Proper Name. And that
this was it which Paul preached, appears
from ver. 11. Saul hicreafed the more in
Strength, and confounded the J-ews who
dwelt in Damafcus, proving that this is tho
very Chrift, i. e. the Meffiah.

Peter, when he came to Cornelius at
Cefarea -, who by a Vifion was ordered to
fend for him, as Peter, on the other fide,
was by a Vifion commanded to go to him ;
What does he teach him ? His whole Dif-
G 2 courfe.

^6 T' he Re afoncthlenefs of Chn^imiiy^

courfe, j4Bs x. tends to Ihevv what he
fays God commanded the Apoftles to
f reach unto the People^ and to tefiify ; 7'hat
it is he [ Jefus] which was ordained of God
to he the Judge of the ^lick and the Dead.
And that it was to him that all the ^ro'
fhets give witnefs, that through his Nar/ie
'■jijhofoever believed in him Jhall have Re-
fnij/ton of Sins, ver. 42, 43. This is the
JVord which God fent to the Children of
Ifrael ; that WO R D which was pihlifhed '
throughout j//Judea, and began from Galilee,
after the Baptijm which |ohn preached,
ver. 3^, "^j. And thefe are the f fords
which had been promiled to Cornelius,
Ads xi. 14. Whereby he and all his Houje
fhonld he faved : y^\\\z\\Words amount only
to thus much, That fefus was the Mefftah,
the Saviour that was promifed. Upon
their receiving of this (for this was all was
taught them) the Holy Ghofl: fell on them,
and they were baptized. 'Tis obfcrvable
here, that the Holy Ghoft fell on them
before they were baptized ; which in other
Places Converts received not till after Bap-
tifm. The Reafon whereof fcems to be
this ; That God by beftowing on them the
Holy Ghoft, did thus declare from Heaven,
that the Gentiles, upon believing Jefus to
be the Meffiah, ought to be admitted into
the Church by Baptifm as well as the Jews.
Whoever reads St. Peter's Defence, Jcfs xi.

when

as delivered hi the Scriptures. ^y

when he was accufed by thofe of the Gir-
cumcifion, that he had not kept that Di-
ftancc which he ought with the Uncircuni-
cifed, will be of this Opinion ; and fee by
what he fays, ver. ij, 16^, ly. that this
was the Ground, and an irrehftible Au-
thority to him for doing fo ftrange a Thing,
as it appeared to the Jews (who alone yet
were Members of the Chriftian Church) to
admit Gentiles into their Communion, upon
their believing. And therefore St. Petery
in the foregoing Chapter, yifis x. before
he would Baptize them, propofes this
Queftion to thofe of the CtrcumctfioUy ivh'ich
came with him^ and were afonijhedy becaufe
that on the Gentiles aJfo was 'poured out the
Gifts of the Holy Ghoft : Can any one forbid
JVater^ that thefe fould not he -haptifedy
who have received the Holy Ghofl as well as
we ? ver. 47. And when fome of the
Sed of the ^harifees^ who believed,
thought it needful that the converted Gen-
tiles fjould be circumcifedj and keep the
Law of Mofes, jicls xv. Peter rofe up and
faid unto theni^ Men and Brethren^ you
know that a zood while azo God made Choice
amongfi iis^ that the Gentiles^ viz. CorneliuSy
and thofe here converted with him, bv Jny
Mouth fljould hear the Gofpel^ and believe.
Jlnd God^ who hwweth the Heart Sy bare
thetn fVitnefsy giving them the Holy Ghoft y
even as he did unto us, and put no Difference
C X betzveeji

3$ The Reafonahlenefs of Chriftlanity,

between us and them^ pirifytng their Hearts
hy Fa'itb^ vcr. 7, c^. So that both Jews
and Gentiles, who believed Jefus to be the
Mejfahj received thereupon the Seal of
Baptifm ; whereby they are owned to be
his, and diftinguifhed from Unbelievers.
From what is abovefaid, we may obferve,
That this preaching Jefus to be the Mejjiah^
is called the Wordy and the Word of God \
and believing it, receiving the Word of God.
Vide Ads x. 3^, -^y, and xi. i, i9> 20.
And the Word of the Gofpel^ Ads xv. 7.
And fo likewife in the Hiflory of the
Gofpel, what Mark, Chap. iv. 14, 15.
calls fimply the fVord, St. Luke calls the
Word of God, Luke ■ yin. 11. And St.
Mathezv, Chap. xiii. 10. the F/ord of the
Kingdom :j which were, it feems^ in the
Gofpel-writers fynonymous Terms, and are
fo to be underitood by us.

But to go on : ^Bs xiii. Paul preaches
in the Synagogue at jintloch, where he
makes it his Bufinefs to convince the ^ews,
that God, according to his Promlfe, had of
the Seed of David raifed to Ifrael a Saviour ^
Jefus, vcr. 24. Tliat he was Lie of whom
the Prophets writ, ver. 25 — 1^. u e. the
Meffah : And that as a Demonftration of
his being fo, God had raifed him from the
Dead, ver. 30. From whence he argues
thus, ver, 32, ■^'^. We Evangelize to you,
or bring you this Golpelj hoiv that the

^ro^

as chlwered in the Scriptures. 30

Promtje which was made to our Fathers,
God hath fulfilled the fame unto us, in that
he hath raijed tip Jefus again j as it is alio
written in the fecond Pfalm, Thou art my
Son, this Day have I begotten thee. And
having gone on to prove him to be tlie
Mefftah, by his Reflirredion from the
Dead, he makes this Concliifion; ver. 38,
35). Be it known unto you therefore. Men
and Brethren, that through this Man is
f reached unto you Forgivenefs of Sins ; and
by him all who believe, are jufti fed from all
things from which they could not be juflified
by the Law of Mofes. This is in this
Chapter called the Word of God over and
over again : Compare ver, 42. with 44,
4(5, 48^, 45). And Chap. xii. ver. 24.

jl3s xvii. 1, 4. At ^heffalonica, Paul,
as his Manner was, went into the Synagogue,
and three Sabbath-days reafoned with the
Jews out of the Scriptures ; opening and
alledgwg, that the McfTiah mufl needs have
faffered^ and rifen again from the Dead:
And that this Jefus, whom I preach unto
you, is the Meiliah. jind Jbme of them be-
lieved, and conforted with Paul and Silas :
But the Jews which believed not. Jet the
City in an uproar. Can there be any thing
plainer, than that the alfenting to this Pro-
pofition, that Jefus was the Mejftah, was
that which diftin2;ui{hed the Believers from
the Unbelievers ? For this w\is that alone
G 4 which,

40 Th Reafdnahkfiefj of ChxiRiSimtY ,

which, three Sabbaths, Pai/l endeavoured
to convince them of, as the Text tells us in
direct Vv^ords.

From thence he went to Berea, and
preached the lame Thing : And the £e^
ream are commended, ver. 1 1 . for fearch-
ing the Scriptures, whether thofe Things,
/. e. which he had faid, ver, 2, 3. con-
cerning Jefiis his being the MeJ/iahy were
true or no.

The fame Dodrine we find him preach-
ing at Cormth^ Acfs xviii. 4, 6^. And he
reafoned In the Synagogue every Sabbath^ and
ferfuaded the Jews and the Greeks. And
ivhen Silas and Timothcus were come from
Macedonia, Vaul waj pre^d in Spirify and
tejitjied to the Jews, that Jefus was the
Meliiah. And when they oppofed thzmfelvesy
and blajphemedy he flyook his Raytnenty and
faid unto theniy Tour Blood be upon your own
Headsy I am clean ; from henceforth I will
go unto the Greeks.

Upon the like Occafion he tells the Jews
at Antiochy ABs xiii. 46". // was necejpiry
that the Word of God Jhould jirfi have been
fpoken to you: But feeing you put it off' from
yoUy we tarn to the Gentiles. ■'Tis plain
here, St. PauVs charging their Blood on
their own Heads, is for oppofing this fingle
Truth, that "^jefus was the Mejftah ; that
Salv^ation or Perdition depends upon be-
lieving or rcjecling this one Propofition.

I mean.

^■i delivered in the Scriptures. 41

1 mean, this is all is required to be be-
lieved by thole who acknowledge but one
Eternal and Invifibie God, the Maker of
Heaven and Earth, as the J-ezvs did. For
that there is fomething more required to
Salvation, befides believing, we fhall fee
hereafter. In the mean time, it is fit here
on this Occafion to take Notice, that
though the Apoftles in their preaching to
the JewSj and the Devout^ (as we tranllate
the Word 22^Q/>tgvoi, who were Profelytes
of the Gate, and the Worfhippers of one
Eternal and Invifibie God,) faid nothing
of the believing in this one true God, the
Maker of Heaven and Earth ; becaufe it
was ncedlefs to prefs this to thofe who
believed and profeffed it already (for to
fuch, 'tis plain, were moft of their Dif-
courles hitherto ; ) yet when they had to
do with Idolatrous Heathens, who were
not yet come to the Knowledge of the one
only true God ; they began with that, as
neceffary to be believed ; it being the
Foundation on which the other was built,
and without which it could fignify no-
thing. ^

Thus '9aul fpeaking to the Idolatrous
Lyftrians^ who would have facrificed to
him and ^jr/';j^^j-, fays, ^^v'j xiv. 15. We
f reach unto you^ that you Jhould turn from
'thefe Vanities unto the Living God^ who
made Heaven^ and Earthy a?2d the Sea^ and

all

42 ^he Reafonablenefs ^Chriftianity,

all things that are therein. Who in T'imes
faft fiiffered all ISJations to walk in their
own Ways, tleverthelefs he left not hinifelf
without Witnefs in that he did Good, and gave
us Rain from Heaven, and fruttful Seafonsy
filing our Hearts with Food and Gladnefs.

Thus alfo he proceeded with the Idola-
trous Athenians, A^s xvii. telling them,
upon occafion of the Altar dedicated to
the unknown God, Whom ye ignorantly
worfoip, him declare I unto yon ', God who
fiiade the World, and all 'fhings therein :
Seeing that he is Lord of Heaven and Earthy
dwelleth not in 7'emples made with Hands,

Forafmuch then as we are the Off-fpring

of God, we ought not to think that the
Godhead is like unto Gold, or Silver, or Stone,
graven by Art, and Man's Device. And
the 7'imes of this Ignorance God winked at ;
bat now commandeth all Men every where to
repent : Becaufe he hath appointed a Day
In which he will judge the World in Righ^
teoufnefs, by that Man whom he hath or-
dained : Whereof he hath given AJpirance
u?7to all Men, in that he hath raifed him
from the Dead. So that we fee, where
any thing more was neceffary to be pro-
pofed to be believed, as there was to the
Heathen Idolaters, there the Apoftles were
careful not to omit it.

Jiis xviii. 4. Paul at Corinth reafoned
in the Synagogue every Sabbat h'day, and

teflijjed-

as delivered in the Scriptures. 43

teflifed to the Jews^ that Jefus was the
Meffiah. V^er, 1 1 . Jnd he continued there
a Tear and Jix Months^ teaching the Word
of God amongji them-^ I. e. The good
News, that ye/as was the Afeffiah ; as we
have already fhewn is meant by the IFbrd
of God.

Jpollos^ another Preacher of the Gofpel,
when he was intruded in the Way of God
more perfe6l:ly, what did he teach but this
fame Dodrine ? As we may lee in this
Account of him, JBs xviii. 27. That
when he was come into Achaia, he helped
the Brethren much who had believed thiouzh
Grace. Tor he mightily convinced the Jews,
and that puhUchly^ f jewing by the Scriptures
that Jefus was the Meffiah.

St. PauL in the Account he e;ives of
himfelf before Fejius and jigrippa^ pro-
felfes this alone to? be the Dodrine he
taught after his Con^erfion : For, fays he,
Acls XMvi. 11. Having obtained Help of
Godj I continue unto this Day^ wltnejfng
both to fmall and great ^ fiylng none other
thijigs than thoje which the Prophets and
Mofes did fay [Ijould come \ That the Meffias
fjould fuffer^ and that he fjould be the frfl
that fhould rife from the Dead^ and fhould
(hew Light unto the People^ and to the
Gentiles. Which was no more than to
prove that Jefus was the Mejfiah. This
is that, which, as we have above obfcrvcd,

is

44 ^^^ Reafonahlenefs ^ Chriftianity,

is called the Word of God ; ^cfs xi. i .
compared with the foregoing Chapter, from
ver. 34, to the End. And xiii. 42, com-
pared with 44, 46, 48, 4p. And xvii. 1 3.
compared with ver. ik 3. It is alfo called
the JFord of the Gojpel., Acis^^.-j. Arid
this is that Vy^ord of God^ and that Gofpel^
■which, where-ever their Dif ourfes are fet
down, we ftnd the Apoflles preached ;
and was that Faith, which made both
ye-ni's and Gentiles l^elievers and Members
of the Church of Chrift ; purifying their
Hearts, ABs xv. ^. And carrying with
it Remiffion of Sins, JlBsy., 43. So that
all that was to be believed for Juftification,
was no more but this fingle Propofition;
That Jefiis of Nazareth was the Chr'ifi^ or
the Meffiah. All, I fay, that was to be
believed for Juftifieation : For that it was
not all that was required to be done for
Juftifieation, we fhall fee hereafter.

Though we have leen above from what
our Saviour has pronounced himfelf, John
iii. 3(^. T'hat he that helieveth on the Sony
hath everlafling Lfe ; and he that helieveth
not the Son^ fhall not fee L'lje^ hut the
Wrath of God ahideth on hira-^ And are
taught from John iv. 3^^. compared with
'ver. 42. ^hat hel'iev'nig on h'un^ is beUevtng
that he Is the Meffiah, the Saviour of the
World ; And the Confeffion made by St.
Petei'y Matt. xvi. id. That he is the

Mef-

as delivered tn the Scriptures. 45

Meffiah, the Son of the Living God, being
the Rock, on which our Saviour has pro-
mifed to build his Church ; Though this,
I fay, and what elfe we have already takea
notice of, be enough to convince us what it
is we are in the Gofpel required to believe
to Eternal Life, without adding what we
have obferved from the Preaching of the
Apoftles ; yet it may not be amifs, for the
farther clearing this Matter, to obferve
what the Evangelifts deliver concerning
the fame thing, though in different Words ;
which therefore perhaps are not fo gene-
rally taken notice of to this Purpofe.

We have above obferved, from the
Words of Andrew and Philip compared.
That the Meffiah^ and hi?n of whom Mofes
in the Law and the l^rophets did write^
fignify the fame Thing. We fhall now
confider that Place, John i. a little further.
Key. ^i. Andreiz) fays to Simon^ PFe have
found the Meffiah. Philip., on the fame
Occafion, ver. 45. fays to Nathanael, PP^'e
have found htm., of whom Mofes /;; the Law
and the Prophets did write^ Jefus of Na-
zareth, the Son of jofeph. Nathanael, who
disbelieved this, when upon Chrift's Ipeak-
ing to him, he was convinced of it, de-
clares his Alfent to it in tr.efe Words ;
Rabbi., thou ait the Son of God., thou art
the King of Ifrael. From which ic is
evident, that to believe him to be Him

4

46 ^he Keafonahkmfs «?/'Chriftianity,

of whom Moles and the ^Prophets dtd write ^
or to be the Son of God^ or to be the Khig
of Ifrael, was in effed the fame as to be-
lieve hun to be the McJJiah : And an Aflent
-to that, was what our Saviour received for
believing. For upon Nathafjael's making
a Confcilion in thefe Words, 'fhou art the
Son of Godj thoii art the Khig oj Ifrael ;
Jefus anfduered and f aid to hifn^ Becatije I
faid to thee^ I fazv thee under the Fig-tree^
doji thou BELIEVE? Thou fi alt fee
greater 'thingi than thefe^ ver. 51. I de-
iire any one to read the latter Part of the
iirft of "John^ from ver. 25. with Atten-
tion, and tell me, whether it be not plain,
that this Phrafe, The Son of God., is an
Expreffion ufed for the Meffiah. To
which let him add Marthas Declaration of
her Faith, 'John xi. 27. in thefe Words ;
I believe that thou art the Meffiah, THE
SON OF GODy who fJwuId come into
the Worldly And that Paffage of St. John.,
Chap. XX. 3 1 . That ye might believe that
Jefus is //^^ Meffiah, 'THE SON OF
GODy and that believing^ ye might have
Life through his Name : And then tell me
whether he can doubt that Meffiah and Son
of God were Tynonymous Terms, at that
Time, amongfl: the Jews.

The Prophecy of Daniel^ Chap, ix.
where he is called Mejjiah the'^rince ; And
the mention of his Government and King-
dom,

as delivered in the Scriptures. 47

dom, and the Deliverance by him, in
Ifaiah^ Daniel., and other ProphefieSj un-
derltood of the Meffiah., v/ere fo well
known to the Jews., and had fo raifed their
Hopes of him about this Time, which, by
their Account, was to be the Time of his
coming to reftorc the Kingdom to Jfraely
that Herod no fooner heard of the Magi*s
Enquiry after him that was horn King of
the Jews, Matt. ii. but he forthwith de-
fnanded of the Chief Priejis and Scribes^
where the Mefliah fhould be born., ver. 4.
Not doubting, but if there were any King
born to the Jews.^ it was the Mefjiah., whofc
coming w^as now the general Expedation,
as appears, Liike iii. 15. 7 he People being
in Expe^ation^ and all Men miijtng in their
Hearts ^John, whether he were //&^ Mefliah
6r not. And when the Prieils and Levites
fent to ask him who he was, he, under-
ftanding their Meaning, anfwers, John i.
20. That he was not the Mejfiah \ but he
bears witnefs that Jelus is tbe Son of Gody
i. e. the Mejjiahy ver. 34.

This looking for the Mejfiah at this
Time we fee alfo in Simeon., who is faid
to be waiting for the Confolation of Ifrael,
httke ii. 21. And having the Child Jefus
in his Arms, he fays he had fe€?i the Sal-
vation of the Lord, ver. 30. And ^nna
coming at the fame Inflant into the T'emple.,
(he gave 7 hanks alfo unto the Lord, and

fpake

48 The Reafonahknefs t/'Chriftianity,

fpake of htm to all them that looked for Re-
de mpion in Ifrael, ver. ^%. And of Jofeph
of Arlmathea It is faid, Mark xv. 43. that
he alfo exfecfed the Ki}2gdo??i of God : By
all which was meant the Coming of the
3Ieffiah. And Luke xix. 1 1 . 'tis faid, They
thought that the Kingdom of God Jhould
iviunediately appear.

This being prcmifed, let us fee what it
was that 'John the Baptift preached, when
he firft entered upon his Miniftry. That
St. Matthew tells us, chap. iii. 1,2. In thofe
Days came John the Baptift preaching in
the Wilder nefs of Judea, faying^ Repent., for
the Kingdom of Heaven is at Hand. This
was a Declaration of the Coming of the
Mejfah ; the Kingdom of Heaven and the
Kingdom of God being the fame, as is clear
out of feveral Places of the Evangelifts ;
and both fignifying the Kingdom of the
Mejfah. The Profeffion which J-ohn the
Baptif made, when fent to the Jews, John
i. I p. was, That he was not the Mejjiah^
but that Jefus was. This will appear to
any one, who will compare ver. 26 , 34.
with John iii. 27, 30. The Jews being
very inquifitive to know whether John
were the AfeJ/iah, he pofitively denies it,
but tells them, he was only his Fore-
runner ; and that there ftood one amongft
them, who would follow him, whofe Shoe-
latchet he was not worthy to untie. The

next

as delivered in the Scriptures. 40

next Day feeing Jelus, he Jays, he was the
Man \ and that his own baptizing in Wa-
ter, was only that Jefus might be mani-
fefted to the World ; and that he knew
him not, 'till he faw the Holy Ghoft de-
fcend upon him. He that fent him to
baptize having told him, that he on whom
he ihould fee the Spirit defcend, and reft
upon, he it was that fhould baptize with
the Holy Ghoft ; and that therefore he
witnefled, that this was the Son of God^
ver. 34. /. e. the MeJJiah. And chap, iii.
2(5, &c. they came to John the Bapftfly
and tell him, that Jefus baptized, and that
all Men went to him. John anfwers. He
has his Authority from Heaven : You
know I never faid, I was the MeJJiah^ but
that I was fent bejfore him : He muft in-
creale, but I muft decreafe ; for God hath
fent him, and he fpeaks the Words of God 5
and God hath given all Things into the
Hands of his Son, And he that believes on
the Son hath eternal Life. The fame Do-
ctrine, and nothing elfe, but what was
preached by the Apoftles afterwards ; as
we have feen all through the Jcts, v. g.
that :Jefus was the Meffiah. And that it
was that yohn bears witnels of our Saviour,
as Jefus himfelf fays, John v. "^y

This alio was the Declaration that was
given of him at his Baptifm, by a Voice
from Heaven j l^his is fny beloved Son^ in

D whom

50 The Reafonahlenefs of Chriftianity,

whom I am well pleafed^Mui. iii. 17. which
was a Declaration of him to be the Mejjtah ;
^he Son of God hcin^ (as we have fhewed)
underftood to iignify the Mejftah, To
which we may add the lirft mention of
him after his Conception^ in the Words of
the Angel to Jofeph-^ Matt. i. 21. Thou
fiah call his Name Jefus^ or Saviour; for
he floall fave his ^eofk from their Shis. It
was a received Dodrine in the Jewifh Na-
tion, that at the Coming of the Mejjiah all
their Sins Ihould be forgiven them. Thefe
"Words therefore of the Angel we may
look on as a Declaration, that Jeflis was
the Mejftah ; whereof thefe Words, his
People^ are a farther Mark \ which fup-
pofe him to have a People, and confcquently
to be a King.

After his Baptifm, Jefus himfelf enters
upon his Miniftry. But before we examine
what it was he propofed to be believed,
we muft obferve, that there is a three-fold
Declaration of the Mefjlah ;

I. By Miracles. The Spirit of Prophecy
had now for many Ages forfaken the Jews ;
and though their Commonwealth were not
quite diffolved, but that they lived under
their own Laws, yet they were under a
foreign Dominion, fubjecl to the Romans,
In this State their Account of the Time
being up, they were in Expectation of the
MeJjJahy and of Deliverance by him in a

Kingdom

as delivered in the Scriptures. ji

Kingdom he was to fet up, according to
their ancient Prophefics of him : Which
gave them Hopes of an extraordinary Man
yet to come from God, who with an ex-
traordinary and divine Power, and Miracles,
fhould evidence his Miflion, and work
their Deliverance. And of any fuch ex-
traordinary Perfon, who fhould have the
Power of doing Miracles, they had no
other Expedation but only of their Mejffiah.
One great Prophet and Worker of Miracles,
and only one more, they expected, who
was to be the Meffiah, And therefore we
fee the People juftiiied their believing in himy
i. e. their believing him to be the Meffiahj
becaufe of the Miracles he did j yohu vii.
3 1 . ylnd many of the People believed In himy
and faidf When the Meiliah comcth, will he
do more Miracles than this Man hath done ?
And when the Jews^ at the Feaft of Dedi-
cation, ^ohn X. 24, 25. coming about him,
faid unto him. How long do ft thou make us
doubt ? If thou be the Melliah, tell us
plainly ; Jcfus anjwered them^ I told ymiy
and ye believed not ; the Works that I do in
my Father s Name^ bear ivltnefs of me.
And John v. 36. he fiys, I have a greater
fVitnefs than that of John ; for the iVorhs
•which the Father hath given me to do^ the
fame Works that I doy bear wltnefs of mey
that the Father hath fent me. Where, by
the Way, we may obfcrve, that his being

D 2 fent

5 a 'The Reafonahknefs o/"Chiiftianity,

Jent by the Father^ is but another Way of
exprefling the Meffiah ^ which is evident
from this Place here, John v. compared
with that of John x. laft quoted. For
there he fays, that his Works bear witncfs
of him : And what was that Witnefs ? viz.
That he was the MeJJiah. Here again he
fays, that his Works bear witnefs of him :
And what is that Witnefs ? viz. That the
Father fent him. By which we are taught,
that to be fent by the Father, and to be
the Meffiah^ was the fame Thing in his
Way of declaring himfelf And accord-
ingly we find, John iv. 53. and xi. 45.
and elfewhere,many hearkened and alfented
to his Teftimony, and believed on him, fee-
ing the Things that he did.

1. Another way of declaring the Com-
ing of the Mejfiah^ was by Phrafes and
Circumlocutions, that did fignify or inti-
mate his Coming, though not in dired
Words pointing out the Perfon. The moft
ufual of thefe were, The Kingdojn of Gody
and of Heaven ; becaufe it was that which
was oftncft fpoken of the Meffiah^ in the
Old ^efiament^ in very plain Words \ and
a Kingdom was that which the Jews moft
looked after, and wdfhed for. In that
known Place, Ifa. ix. The GOVERN^
MEN^ fiall he upon his Shoulders-^ he
Jhall be called the q'RINCE of Peace :
Of the Imreafe of his GOFE^NMENT

and

as delivered in the Scriptures. 53

and Peace there jhall he no End : Upon the
"Throne o/Davld, and upon his KING-
DOAf, to order it, and to eftablifh it with
Judgment and with Jiijiice^ from hence-
forth even for ever. Micah V. 1, But thou^
Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou he little
among the ^houfands of Judah, yet out of
thee fhall He come forth unto me, that is to
he the RULER in Ifrael. And Daniel,
beiides that he calls him Mefftah the
P RINCE, chap.'ix. 25. in the Account
of his Vifion of the Son of Man, chap. vii.
13, 14. lays, 'There was given him Domi-
mon, Glory, and a KING DOM, that all
People, Nations, and Languages floould ferve
him : His Domhnon is an everlafiing Do-
minion, which fhall not fafs away ; and his
KINGDOM that which flmll not he de-
firoyed. So that the Kingdom of God, and
the Kingdom of Heaven, were common
Phrafes amongft th.e Jews, to fignify the
Times of the MeJJiah. Luke xiv. 15. One
of the Jews that fat at Meat zvith him,faid
unto him, Blejpd is he that fjall eat Bread
in the Kingdom of God. Chap. xvii. 20.
The Pharifees demanded, When the King-
dom of God fjould come ? And St. John
Baptifi came, faying. Repent, for the King-
dom of Heaven is at Hand : A Phrafe he
would not have ufed in Preaching, had it
not been underftood.

D 3 There

54 ^^^ Reafomhlenefs of Chriftianity,

There are other Exprefiions that figni-
fied the Mejfiah^ and his Coming, which
we ftiall take Notice of as they come in
our Way.

3. By plain and dired Words, declaring
the Dodrine of the Mtjfiah ; Ipeaking out
that Jeliis was He : As we fee the Apoftles
did, when they went about preaching the
Gofpel, after our Saviour's Refurredion.
This was the open clear Way, and that
which one would think the yl/t^/^^ himfelf,
when he came, fhould have taken ^ efpe-
cially if it were of that Moment, that
upon Mens believing him to be the MeJJiahy
depended the Forgivenefs of their Sins.
And yet we fee that our Saviour did not ;
but, on the contrary, for the moll Part,
made no other Difcovery of himfelf, at
leaft in Judea^ and at the Beginning of his
Miniftry, but in the two former Ways,
which were more obfcure ; not declaring
himfelf to be the Mejjiah, any otherwife
than as it might be gathered from the Mi-
lacles he did, and the Conformity of his
Life and Adions with the Prophefies of the
Old T'ejfament concerning him ; and from
fome general Difcourfes of the Kingdom
of the Meffiah being come, under the Name
of the Khigdom of Gcd, and of Heaveji,
Nay, fo far was he from publickly owning
himfelf to be the Meffiah^ that he forbid
the doing of it : Mark viii. 27, 50. He

asked

as delivered in the Scriptures. 55

asked Ms Dtfctpks^ Whom do Men fay that
I am ? And they anfwered^ John the Bap-
tift ; but Jome fay^ Elias , and others^ one
of the Prophets. (So that it is evident,
that even thole who believed him an extra-
ordinary Perlbn, knew not yet who he
was, or that he gave himfelf out for the
Mejfiah'^ though this was in the third Year
of his Miniftry, and not a Year before his
Death.) And hejalth unto theniy But whom
fay ye that I am ? And Peter aiijwered^ and
fa'id unto h'lm^ fhoii art the Mefliah. And
he charged them that they fhould tell no Man
of him. Luke iv. 41. And Devils came
oat of many^ crying^ fhou art the Mefliah,
the Son of God : And he rebuking thein^fuf-
fend them not to fpeaky that they knew him
to be the Mefliah. Mark iii. 11, 12. Un~
clean Spirits^ when they faw hlm^ fell down
before him, and cried, faying. Thou art the
Son of God : And he fivaltly charged them
that they fjould not make him known. Here
again we may obferve from the comparing
of the two Texts, that fhou art the Son of
God, or Thou art the Mefliah, were indif-
ferently ufed for the fame Thing. But to
return to the Matter in Hand.

This Concealment of him 1 elf will feem
flrange, in one who was come to bring
Light into the World, and was to fuffer
Death for the Teflimony of the T'ruth.
This Refervednefs will be thought to look

D 4 as

5^ ^he Reafomhienefs o/"Chriftianity,

as if he had a Mind to conceal himfelf,
and not to be known to the World for the
Meffiah^ nor to be believed on as fuch. But
we fhall be of another Mind, and conclude
this Proceeding of his according to divine
Wifdom, and fuited to a fuller Manifefta-
tion and Evidence of his being the Meffiahy
when we confider, that he was to fill out
the Time foretold of his Miniftry ; and,
after a Life illuftrious in Miracles and good'
Works, attended with Humility, Meeknefs,
Patience, and Sufferings, and every way
conformable to the Prophefies of him,
ihould be led as a Sheep to the Slaughter,
and with all Quiet and Submillion be
brought to the Crofs, though there were
no Guilt nor Fault found in him. This
could not have been, if, as foon as he ap-
peared in Publick, and began to preach,
he had prefcntly profeiTed himfelf to have
been the Meffiahy the King that owned that
Kingdom he publillied to be at Hand. For
the Sarihedrbn would then have laid hold
on it, to have got him into their Power,
and thereby have taken away his Life ; at
leaft, they would have difturbed his Mi-
niftry, and hindered the Work he was
about. That this made him cautious, and
avoid, as much as he could, the Occafions
pf provoking them, and falling into their
Hands, is plain from ychn vii. i . Jfter
thefe 7'hhigs Jefus walked tn Galilee j out

of

as delivered in the Scriptures. 57

of the Way of the Chief Priefts and
Rulers ; for he would not walk in Jewry ^
hecaufe the Jews fought to hill hi?n. Thus,
making good what he foretold them at
Jeriifalem^ when at the firft PafTover, at
his beginiiing to preach the Gofpel, upon
his curing the Man at the Pool of Bethefda^
they fought to kill him, John v. 16. Te
have 7wty fays he, ver. 38. his PFord abid-^
ing amongfi you : For whom he hath fent^
him ye believe not. This was fpoken more
particularly to the Jews of Jerufalemy
who were the forward Men, zealous to take
away his Life : And it imports, that be-
caufe of their Unbelief and Oppofition to
him, the Word of Gody i. e. the Preaching
of the Kingdom of the Meffah^ which is
often called the Word of God, did notftay
amongft them : He could not Hay amongft
them, preach and explain to them the King-
dom of the Mejfiah.

That the Word of God, here, fignifies
the Word of God that fhould make Jefus
known to them to be the Meffiah^ is evi-
dent from the Context : And this Meaning
of this Place is made good by the E^ent.
For after this, we hear no more of Jefus
at Jernfalem^ 'till the Pentecoft come
Twelvemonth ; tho' 'tis not to be doubted
but that he was there the next PafTover,
and other Feafts between, but privately.
And no\y at Jenfaleni^ at the Feaft of

Pentecoft,

^S 7 he Reafotmhknefs of Chriftianlty,

Pentecoft, near fifteen Months after, he
fays very little of any thing, and not a
Word of the Kingdom of Heaven being
come, or at Hand j nor did he any Miracle
there. And returning to Jenifakfn at the
Feaft of Tabernacles, it is plain, that from
this Time till then, which was a Year and
a half, he had not taught them at J-eru-
jalem.

For, i; it is faid, John yii. 2, 15. that
he teaching in the Temple at the Feaft of
Tabernacles, The Jews marvelled^ fiy^^^gy
How hfioweth this Man Letters, having
never learned ? A Sign they had not been
ufcd to his Preaching ; for if they had,
they would not now have marvelled.

2. Ver, i^. He fays thus to them ; Did
wt Mofes give you the Law, yet none of you
keep the Law ? Why go you about to kill
me ? One Work, or Miracle, / did here
amongft you, and ye all marvel. Mofes
therefore gave unto you Circumcijhn, and ye
on the Sabbath-day circumcife a Man : If a
Man on the Sabbath-day receive Circumct/tony
that the Law of Mofes Jhould not be broken,
are 'ye angry with me, becaufe I have j/iade
a Man every way whole on the Sabbath-day ?
Which is a direct Defence of what he did
at Jerufalem a Year and a half before.
The Work he here fpeaks of we find re-
ported John V. I ~ 1 6. He had not preached
to them there from that Time till this, but

had

as delivered in the Scriptures. 55)

had made good what he then told them,
ver. 38. Te have not the JVord of God re-
maining anwng yoUy hecaufe whom he hath
' fent^ ye believe not. Whereby, I think, he
{igniiies his not ttaying and being frequent
amongft them at Jerufalem^ preaching the
Gofpel of the Kingdom, becaufe their great
Unbelief, Oppofition, and Malice to him,
would not permit it.

This was manifeftly fo in Fad. For
the firft Miracle he did at Jerufakni^ which
was at the fecond PafTover after his Bap-
tifm, brought him in Danger of his Life.
Hereupon we find he forbore Preaching
again there till the Feaft of Tabernacles,
immediately preceding his laft Paflbver :
So that till half a Year before his Paffion,
he did but one Miracle, and preached but
once publickly at Jernfakm. Thefe Trials
he made there • but found their Unbelief
fuch, that if he had ftaid and perfifted to
preach the good Tidings of the Kingdom,
and to fhew himfelf by Miracles among
them, he could not have had Time and
Freedom to do thofe Works which his Fa-
ther had given him to finifh, as he fays,
ver. 3(5. of this jth of St. John. They
all imaginable Ways attacked him, and he
as readily eluded all their Attempts by the
wonderful Quicknefs and Gondud of an
unparallelled Wifdom. Here at this Feaft
pf Tabernacles, T'he Scribes and Pharifees

brought

6o ^he Reajonahlenejs of Chriftianity,

brought tinto him a Woman taken in Adul-
tery \ they fay unto him^ Mafier^ Moles in
the Law commanded us that fuch footild he
Jioned^ hut what fayeji thou ? This they
faid tetnpting him^ that they might accufe
himy John viii. 3~6. 'Tis plain they
hoped that this criminal Caufe of a Wo-
man juft taken in the Fad, brought before
him in the Sight of the People, would
draw him, if he would preferve the Opi-
nion of being the Mejfiah their King, to
give Judgment in it, and by the Exercile
of fuch an Authority expofe him to the
Roman Deputy. Some fuch Accufation
they watched for ; but they could never
get any fuch Advantage againft him : He
marvelloufly defeated their Defign, and
without leflening himfelf, fent them away
covered with Shame and Silence.

When upon the curing of the withered
Hand on the Sabbath-day, The Pharifees
took Counfel with the Herodians how they
might defii'oy him ^ f-^fus withdrew himfelf
with his Difciples to the Sea : And a great
Multitude fom GdXiXcc followed him^andfrom
Judea, and from ]Qxa^a\emy and J rom Idu-
mea, and from beyond Jordan, and they
about Tyre and Sidon, a great Multitude ;
when they had heard what great Things he
did, came unto him, and he healed them all,
and CHARGED THEM 7'HAf "fHET
SHOULD NOf MAKE HIM

KNOWN:

as delivered in the Scriptures. 6t

KNOfFN: "that it might he fulfilled
which wasfpoken by the Prophet Ifaiah,y2fy-
hig^ Behold my Servant whom I have cho-
fen j my Beloved, in whom my Soul is well
pleafed : I will put my Spirit upon him^ and
he fhall fhew Judgment to. the Gentiles :
He fhall not Jirive^ nor cry, neither foall
any Man hear his Voice in the Streets, Matt.
xii. and Mark iii.

And John xi. 47. Upon the News of
our Saviour's raifing Lazarus from the Dead,
the Chief Priefis and Pharifees convened
the Sanhedrim, and f aid. What do we ? For
this Alan does many Miracles. Ver. ^^,
'then from that Day forth they took Counfel
together for to put him to Death. Ver. 54.
Jefus therefore walked no more openly amongfi
the Jews. His Miracles had now fo much
declared him to be the Mefpah, that the
Jews could no longer bear him, nor he
truft himfelf amongft them -, hut went
thence unto a Country near to the Wildernefs,
into a City called Ephraim, and there con-
tinued zvith his Dijciples. This was but a
little before his laft Paffovcr, as appears by
the following Words, ver. 55. ylnd the
Jews PaJJover was nigh at Hand : And he
could not, now his Miracles had made him
fo well known, have been fecure the little
Time that remained till his Hour was fully-
come, if he had not with his wonted and
neceflary Caution withdrawn, ^nd walked

no

6i T'he Reafonahknefs (^/"Chriflianity,

no more openly amongji the Jews, till his
Time (at the next Paflbver) was fully come \
and then again he appeared amongft them
openly.

Nor would the Romans have fufFered
him, if he had gone about Preaching that
he was the King whom the Jews expeded.
Such an Accufation would have been for-
wardly brought againfl him by the Jews^
if they could have heard it out of his own
Mouth ; and that had been his publick
Dodrine to his Followers, which was openly
preached by his Apoftles after his Death,
when he appeared no more. And of this
they were accufed, A3s xvii. j, ^. But
the Jews which believed not^ moved with
Jinvy^ took unto them certain lewd Fellows
of the bafer Soft^ and gathered a Company^
and fet all the City in an Uproar ^ and af-
Jaulted the Houfe of Jafon, and fought to
bring them out to the People, y^nd when
they found them [Paul and Silas] not^ they
drew Jafon and certain Brethren unto the
Rulers of the City^ crying^ Thefe that have
turned the jVortd upjtde down^ are come
hither alfoy whom Jafon hath received : And
thefe all do contrary to the Decrees of Csefar,
faying^ 'That there is another King^ one Jefus.
And they troubled the People and the Rulers
of the City^ when they heard thefe Things :
And when they had taken Security of Jafon
and the other ^ they let them go.

Though

as delivered in the Scriptures. 63

Though the Magiftrates of the World
had no great Regard to the Talk of a King,
who had fufFered Death, and appeared no
longer any where ; yet if our Saviour had
openly declared this of himfelf in his Life-
time, with a Train of Difciples and Fol-
lowers every where owning and crying him
up for their King, the Roman Governor of
ytidea could not have forborn to have taken
Notice of it, and have made ufe of their
Force againft him. This the J-ews were
not miftaken in ; and therefore made ule
of it as the ftrongeft Accufation, and like-
lieft to prevail with Pilate againft him for
the taking away his Life ; it being Trea-
fon, and an unpardonable Offence, which
could not fcape Death from a Roman De-
puty, without the Forfeiture of his own
Life. Thus, then they accufe him to Pi-
late, Luke xxiii. 2. fVe found this Fellow
perverting the Nation, and forbidding to
give tribute to Cxfar, faying, that he him-
felf is a King ; or rather, the Mejfiah the
King.

Our Saviour indeed, now that his Time
was come, (and he in Guftody, and for-
faken of all the World, and lo out of all
Danger of raifing any Sedition or Diftur-
bance) owns himfelf to Pilate to be a
King ', after having firft told Pilate, John
xviii. 36. ^hat his Kingdom "was not of
this PForld j and for a Kingdom in another

World,

64 The Reafonahknefs of Chriillanity,

World, P'tlate knew that his Matter at
Ronie concerned not himfelf. But had there
been any the leaft Appearance of Truth in
the Allegations of the Jews^ that he had
perverted the Nation, forbidding to pay
Tribute to defar^ or drawing the People
after him as their King, Pilate would not
fo readily have pronounced him innocent.
But we fee what he faid to his Accufers,
Luke xxiii. 13, 14. Pilate, when he had
called together the Chief Priefis and the
Rulers rf the People^ faid unto them^ Tou
have brought this Man unto me^ as one that
ferverteth the People ; and beholdy I hav'
ino- examined him before yoUy have found no
Fault hi this Man^ touching thofe Things
whereof you accufe him\ no^ nor yet Herod,
for I fent you to him ; and lo^ nothing wor-
thy of Death Is done by him. And there-
fore finding a Man of that mean Condition,
and innocent Life, (no Mover of Seditions,
or Difturber of the Publick Peace) without
a Friend or a Follower, he would have dif-
miffed him, as a King of no Confequence j
as an innocent Man, falfely and malicioufly
accufed by the Jews,

How necelTary this Caution was in our
Saviour, to fay or do nothing that might
juftly offend, or render him fufpe^led to
the Roman Governor, and how glad the
Jews would have been to have any fuch
Thing againft him, we may fee Luke xx. 20.

The

as delivered in the Scriptures. 65
The Chief Priefts and the Scribes 'watched
hiniy and fent jorth Spes^ whu Jhonld feign
themfdves jiift Men^ that might take hold
of his J-Vords^ that Jo they might deliver
him unto the Power and Authority of the
Governor. And the very Thing wherein
they hoped to entrap him in this Place,
was paying Tribute to C^far^ which they
afterwards falfely accufed him of. And
what would they have done, if he had be-
fore them profelTcd himfelf to have been
the MeJJiah^ their King and Deliverer ?

And here we may obferve the wonderful
Providence of God, who had fo ordered
the State of the Jews at the Time w hen
his Son was to come into the World ; that
though neither their Civil Conftitution nor
religions Worlhip were diflblved, yet the
Power of Life and Death was taken from
them ; whereby he had an Opportunity to
publilh the Kingdom of the Mejjtah ; that
is, his own Royalty, under the Name of
the Kingdom of God^ and of Heaven ;
which the Jews well enough underftood,
and would certainly have put him to Death
for, had the Power been in their own
Hands. But this being no Matter of Ac-
cufation to the Romans^ hindered him not
from fpeaking of the Kingdom of Heaven ^
as he did : Sometimes in reference to his
appearing in the World, and being believed
on by particular Perions j fometimes in

E reference

66 fhe Reafonahlenefs (j/'Chriflianity,

reference to the Power that fhould be given
him by the Father at the Refurredion ;
and fometimes in reference to his coming to
judge the World at the laft Day, in the
full Glory and Completion of his Kingdom.
Thefe were Ways of declaring himfelf,
which the jfe-zcj could lay no hold on, to
bring him in Danger with Pontius Pilate^
and get him feized and put to Death.

Another Reafon there was, that hindered
him as much as the former fiom profeffing
himfelf in cxprefs Words to be the Meffiah,
and that was, that the whole Nation of
the Jezvs expeding at this Time their
Meffiah, and Deliverance by him from the
Subjedion they were in to a foreign Yoke,
the Body of the People would certainly,
upon his declaring himfelf to be the Meffiab
their King, have rofe up in Rebellion, and
fet him at the Head of them. And, in-
deed, the Miracles that he did, fo much
dilpofed them to think him to be the
MeffJah, that though fhrouded under the
Oblcurity of a mean Condition, and a very
private fimple Life ; though he palfed for
a GaTikan^ (his Birth at Bethlehem being
then concealed) and affumed not to him-
felf any Power or Authority, or fo much
as the Name of the Mefjiah^ yet he could
hardly avoid being fet up by a Tumult,
and proclaimed their King. So 'John tells
us, chaj^, vi. 14, 1.5. ^hen thofc Men, when

they

as delivered hi the Scriptures. 67

they had feen the Miracles that Jefus didy
faid^ T^his is of a I'ruth that Prophet that
JJjoald come into the Woild. When thcre~
fore Jefus perceived that they would come to
take him by Force to make him King^ he de^
-parted again into a Mountain him/ef alone.
This was upon his feeding of Five Thou-
fand with live Barley JLoaves and two
Fiilics. So hard was it for him, doing
rhofe Miracles which were neceflary to
teftify his Miffion, and which often drew
great Multitudes after him, Matt. iv. 25.
to keep the heady and hafly Multitude
from fuch Diforder, as would have in-
volved him in it, and have diiturbed the
Courfe, and cut ftort the Time of his
Miniftry, and drawn on him the Reputation
and Death of a turbulent feditious Male-
fador ; contrary to the Defign of his com-
ing, which was to be offered up a Lamb
blamelefs, and void of Offence; his Inno-
cence appearing to all the World, even to
him that delivered him up to be crucified.
This it would have been impolliblc to have
avoided, if in his Preaching every where,
he had openly afTumed to himfelf the Title
of their Mejfiah ; v/hich was all was want-
ing to fet the People in a Flame \ who,
drawn by his Miracles, and the Hopes of
finding a Deliverer in ^o extraordinary a
Man, followed him in great Numbers. We
read every where of Multitudes ; and in

^8 I'he Reafonahlenefs ^Chrlftianity,

Luke xii. i. of Myriads that were gathered
about him. This Conflux of People, thus
difpofed, would not have failed, upon his
declaring himfelf to be the Mejfiah^ to
have made a Commotion, and with Force
fet him up for their King. It is plain
therefore from thefe two Reafons, why
(though he came to preach the Gofpcl, and
convert the World to a Belief of his being
the Mejjiahj and though he fays fo much
of his Kingdom, under the Title of the
Kingdom of God, and the Kingdom of
Heaven) he yet makes it not his Bufinefs
to perfaade them that he I'imfclf is the
Mtjjlahy nor does in his publick Preaching
declare himfelf to be him. He inculcates
to the People, on all Occafions, that the
Kingdom of God is come. He Ihews the
way of Admittance into this Kingdom, viz.
Repentance and Baptifm ; and teaches the
Lavv's of it, viz. Good Life, according to
the ftrideft Rules of Virtue and Morality.
But who the King was of this Kingdom,
he leaves to his Miracles to point out to
thofe who would confider wf at he did,
and make the right ufe of it now ; or to
witnefs to thofe w^ho.fhould hearken to the
Apoftles hereafter, when they preached it
in plain Words, and called upon than to
believe it, after his Refurreclion ; vvhen
there fhould be no longer room to fear tint
it fliould caufe any Difturbance in Civil

Societies

as delivered in the Scriptures. 6^

Societies and the Governments of the World.
But he could not declare himfelf to be the
Mt'lJJah^ without manifeft Danger of Tu-
mult and Sedition : And the Miracles he
did declared it fo much, that he was fain
often to hide himfelf, and withdraw frorti
the Concourfe of the People. The Leper
that he cured, Mark i. though forbid to
fay any thing, yet blazed it Jo abroad^ that
Jejtis could no more openly enter into the
Ctty^ but was without in defart Places, being
in Retirement, as appears from L?//:^ v. i6.
and there they came to him fro?n every Quar-
ter. And thus he did more than once.

This being premifed, let us take a View of
the Promulgation of the Gofpel by our Sa-
viour himfelf, and fee what it was he taught
the World, and required Men to believe.

The lirft Beginning of his Miniftry,
whereby he ihewed himfelf, feems to be at
Cana in Galilee^ foon after his Baptifin ;
where he turnc^d Water into Wine : Of
which St. John J chap, ii, 1 1 . fays thus,
'if his beginning of Miracles Jejiis made, and
manifejled his Glory, and his Difciples be^
lieved in him. His Difciples here believed
in him, but we hear not of any other
Preaching to them, but by this Miracle,
whereby he manifejled his Glory, i. e. of
being the Mejjiah the Prince. So Natha-^
nael, without any other Preaching, but only
our Saviour's difcoyering to him that he

E 3 knevf

70 The Recjonabknefs of Chriftlanity,

knew him after an extraordinary Manner,
preiently acknowledges him to be the
Mejjiah ; crying, Rahhi^ ^hou art the Son
cf God ; ^hou art the King of lirael.

From hence, fcaying a few Days at
Capernaum^ he goes to Jeriifakm to the
PaiTover, and there he drives the Traders
out of the Temple, John\\, 12—15. ^^7"
ing, Make mt my Father's HonJ'e a Hotife
of Merchandize, Where we fee, he iifes
a Phrafe, which, by Interpretation, figni-
iies that he was the Son of God^ though at
that Time unregarded. Fer. 1 6. Hereupon
the Jews demand, If'hat Sign daft thou
jhezv usy fnce thoa dotfl thefe fhiyigs ?
ye/us anfweredy Deflroy ye this T'empky
and in three Days I will rajfe it again. This
is an Inftance of what way Jefus took to
declare himfelf : For 'tis plain by their
Reply the Jezvs underftood him not, nor
his Difciples neither ; for 'tis faid, ver. 22.
IV hen therefore he was ri fen from the Deady
his Difciples rernemhered that he faid this
to them : And they believed the Scripture^
and the Sayii?g of Jefus to them.

This therefore we may look on, in the
Beginning, as a Pattern of Chrif's Preach-
ing, and fhewing himfelf to the Jews ;
which he generally followed afterwards,
viz. fuch a Manifeftation of himfelf, as
every one at prefent could not underftand ;
but yet carried fuch an Evidence with it

to

as delivered in the Scriptures. 71

to thofe who were well-difpofed now, or
would rcfled on it when the whole Courfc
of his Miniftry was over, as was fufficient
clearly to convince them that he was the
Mejfiah.

The Reafon of this Method ufed by our
Saviour, the Scripture gives us here, at
this his lirft appearing in publick, after
his Entrance upon his Miniftry, to be a
Rule and Light to us in the whole Courfe
of it : For the next Verfe takes Notice
that many believed on him hecaiij'e of his
Miracles^ (which was all the Preaching
they had). 'Tis faid, ver. 24. But Jefus
did not commit himj'e/f unto them^ hecauje
he knew all Men ; I. e. he declared not him-
felf fo openly to be the MeJJiah^ their
King, as to put himfclf into the Power of
the Jews^ by laying himfelf open to their
Malice, whom he knew would be {o ready
to lay hold on it to accufe him ^ for, as the
next Verfe 25. Ihews, he knew well enough
what was in them. We may here farther
obferve, that believing In his Name, ligni-
fies believing him to be the Meffiah, Ver.
11. tells us. That many at the Pajfover he^
lleved w his Name, when they faw the Ml^
racks that he did. What other Faith could
thefe Miracles produce in them who faw
them, but that this was He of whom
the Scripture fpoke, who was to be their
Peliverer ?

E 4 Whim

71 ^he Reajbmblemfs o/^Chrlftlanity,

Whilfl: he was now at Jerufahm^ N'lcode^
mtiSy a Ruler of the yews^ comes to him,
John iii. i~2i. to whom he preaches eter-
nal Life by Faith in the Me[jiah^ ver. 15.
and 17. but in general Terms, without
naming himfelf to be that Mefjiah^ though
his whole Difcourfe tends to* it. This is
all we hear of our Saviour the firft Year of
his Miniftry, but only his Baptifm, hail-
ing, and Temptation in the Beginning of
it, and fpending the reft of it after the
Paffover in Judea with his Difciples, bap-
tizing there. But inhen he knew that the
Pharifecs reported that he made and bap-
tized more Difc'tples than John, he. left
judea, and got out of their Way again in-
to Galilee^ J-ohn iv. 1,3.

In his Way back, by the Well of Skhar^
he difcourfes .with the Samaritan Woman •
and after having opened to her the true and
fpiritual Worfhip which was at Hand,
which the Woman prefently underftands of
the 1' imes of the Mefjiah^ who was then
looked for ; thus ihe anfwers, ver. 25. /
hnow that the Melliah cometh : When he is
cemey he will tell us all 'Things. Where-
upon our Saviour, though we hear no fuch
Thing from him in 'Jerufilera or Judea^ or
to jSJicodewn'Sy yet here to this Samaritan
Woman, he in plain and dired Words owns
and declares, that he himfelf, who talked
with her, was the MeJJtahy ver. 26.

This

as delivered in the Scriptures. y^

This would feem very ftrange, that he
fbould be more free and open to a Sama^ ■
ritan^ than he was to the JewSy were not
the Realbn plain from what we have ob-
lerved above. He was now out of yudea^
with a People with whom the Jews had no
Commerce j ver. p. who were not difpofcd
out of Envy, as the yews were, to leek
his Life, or to accufc him to the Rommi
Governor, or to make an Infurredion to
fet a Jew up for their King. What the
Conlequcnce was of his Difcourfe with
this Samaritan Woman, we have an Ac-
count, ver. 28, 35)~42. She left her PVater^
foty and went her way into the City, and
faith to the Men, Come, fee a Man who told
me all T'hings that ever I did : Is not this
the Meffiah ? And many of the Samaritans
of that City BELIEFED ON HIM
for the Saying of the Woman, which te/fi-
fed, He told me all that ever I did. So
when the Samaritans were come unto him,
they bejbught him that he would tarry with
them : And he abode there two Days. And
many more believed htcaufe of his own PVcrdy
and faid unto the ff^oman, Now we believe
not becauje of thy Saying ; for we have
heard him ourfelves ; and we know (/. e. are
fully perfuaded) that it is indeed the Mef-
fiah, the Saviour of the World. By com-
paring ver, 35), with 41 and 42, it is plain,

that

74 ^^^^ Reafonahlenefs o/"Chriftianity,

that heliemng on h'lm^ fignifies no more than
believing him to be the Mejfjah.

From Skhar Jefus goes to Nazareth^ the
Place he was bred up in, and there read-
ing in the Synagogue a Prophecy concern-
ing the MeJJiah out of the Ixift of Ifciicihy
he tells them, Luke iv. 21. This Day Is the
Scripture faJfilkd in your Ears.

But being in Danger of his Life at Na-
zareth^ he leaves it for Capernaum : And
then, as St. Matthiw informs us, chap. iv.
ly. He began to preachy and fay ^ Repent,
for the Kjngdoni of Heaven is at hand. Or,
as St. Mark has it, chap. i. 1 4, 1 5. Preach-
ing the Gofpel of the Kingdom of God, and
faying, I'he Time is Jul filed, and the King-
dom of God is at hand, repent ye, and . be-
lieve in the Gofpel; i. e. believe this good
News. This removing to Capernaum, and
feating himfelf there in the Borders of
Zabulon and Naphtali, was, as St. Matthew
obferves, chap. iv. 13— id. that a Prophecy
of Ifaiah might be fulfilled. Thus the
Actions and Circumftances of his Life an-
fwered the Prophefies, and declared him
to be the MeJJiah. And by what St. Mark
fays in this Place, it is manifeft, that the
Gofpel which he preached and required
them to believe, was no other but the good
Tidings of the Coming of the Meffiah,
^nd of his Kingdom, the Time being now
fulfilled.

Iq

as delivered in the Scriptures. y^

In his Way to Capernaum^ being come
to Cana^ a Nobleman of Capernaum came
to him, ver. 47. And hej ought htm that he
would come down and heal his Son^ Jor he
was at the Point of Death. Ver. 48. 77:?^;/
Jaid Jejhs mito hiiii^ Except ye fee Signs
and fi'onders^ ye will not believe. Then
he returning homewards, and finding that
his Son began to mend at the fame Hour in
which Jefus faid unto him^ 7hy Son Uveth ;
he himjelj believed^ and his whole Houft^
ver. s^'

Here this Nobleman is by the Apoftle
pronounced to be a Believer, And what
does he bdieve ? even that which Jefus
complains, ver. 48. They would not B E-
L IE FEj except they faw S!L';ns and
Wonders ; which could be nothing but
what thofe of Samaria^ in the fame Chapter,
believed, viz. that he was the Mefjlah.
For we nowhere in thcGofpel hear of any-
thing elfe that had been propofed to be be-
lieved by them.

Having done Miracles, and cured all
their Sick at Capernaum., he fays, Let us
go to the adjoining 'fowns^ that I may preach
there alfo ; for therefore came I forth ^ Mark
i. 38. Or, as St. Luke has it, chap. iv. 43.
He tells the Multitude, who would have
kept him, that he might not go from them,
I muft evangelize., or tell the good Tidings
of the Kingdom of Gody to other Cities

alfo

7^ The ReafonahJeuefs o^Chrlftianity,

alfo, for therefore am I fent. And St.
Matthew^ chap. iv. 23. tells us how he ex-
ecuted this Commiffion he was fent on.
And Jeftis zvetit about all Galilee, teaching
in their Synagogues y and preaching the Goj-
fel of the Kingdom^ and curing all D'tfcajes,
This then was what he was fent to preach
every where, viz. the Gofpel of the King-
dom of the Mejjiah ; and by the Miracles
and Good he did, let them know who was
the Mejjtah.

Hence he goes up to Jeriifalemy to the
fecond PaiTover fmce the Beginning of his
Miniftry. And here difcourfing to the
JewSy who fought to kill him, upon Occa-
lion of the Man, whom he had cured,
carrying his Bed on the Sabbath-day, and
for making God hi-s Father, he tells them,
that he wrought thefe Things by the Power
of God, and that he Ihall do greater Things ;
for that the Dead fhall, at his Summons, be
raifed \ and that he, by a Power commit-
ted to him from his Father, fhall judge
them ; and that he is fent by his Father ;
and that whoever fliall hear his Word, and
believe in him that fent him, has eternal
Life. This, though a clear Defcription of
the Mejjiahy yet we may obferve, that here
to the angry "Jews^ who fought to kill
him, he fays hot a Word of his Kingdom,
nor fo much as names the Mefftah ; but yet
that he is the Son of God, and fent from

God,

as delivered in the Scriptures. jj

God, he refers them to the Teftimony of
John the Baptift^ to the Teftimony of his
own Miracles, and of Godi himfelf in the
Voice from Heaven, and of the Scriptures,
and of Mojes. He leaves them to learn
from thelc the Truth they were to believe,
viz. that he was the Mefjiah fent from
God. 1 his you may read more at large,
John v. 1—47.

The next Place where we find him
Preaching was on the Mount, Matt. v. and
Liihe vi. This is by much the longeft Ser-
mon we have of his any where ; and, in
all likelihood, to the greateft Auditory :
For it appears to have been to the People
gathered to him from Gal/lee^ and Judea.,
and J-eruJakm., and from beyond Jordan ;
and that came out of Idnmea^ and from
T'yre and Sydon^ mentioned Mark iii. 7, 8.
and Luke vi. 17. But in this whole Ser-
mon of his we do not find one Word of
believing, and therefore no mention of the
Mejjiah^ or any Intimation to the People
who himfelf was. The Reafon whereof
we may gather from Matt. xii. i^. where
Chrift forbids them to make him knowji ;
which luppofes them to know already who
he was. For that this 12th Chapter of
Matthew ought to precede the Sermon in
the Mount, is plain, by comparing it with
Mark li. beginning at ver. 13. to Mark
iii. 8. and comparing thole Chapters of

St,

78 TheKeafonahknefsofChxl^d^mtY,
St. Mark with Luhe vi. And I defire my
Reader, once for all, here to take Notice,
that 1 have all along oblerved the Order
of Time in our Saviour's Preaching;, and
have not, as I thmk, paffed by any of his
Difccurfcs. In this Sermon our Saviour
only teaches them what were the Lav.s of
his Kingdom, and what they mufl do who
w^eie admitted into it, of which I lliall
have Occafion to fpeak more at large in
another Place, being at prefenc only en-
quiring what our Saviour propofed as Mat-
ter of Faith to be believed.

After this, yoh-a the Bapt'ift fends to him
this iNieffage, Li'Jtie vii. i c;). asking, Jlrt
ihoa he that jh sulci come^ or do we expefi
another ? That is, in fliort. Art thou the
Mejjiah ? And if thou art. Why dofl: thou .
Jet me, thy Forerunner, languiili in Pri-
fon ? Muft I expeft Deliverance from any
other ? To which Jefus returns this Anfwer,
ver. 11, 23. Tell John what you have J ecu
and heard ^ the Blind fee^ the La?ne walky
the Lepers are cleanfed^ the Deaf hear^ the
Dead are ra'ifed, to the '^oor the Gofpel is
preached'^ and bkjpd is he who is not offended
in me. What it is to be offended or Jean-
dalized in him^ we may fee by comparing
Matt. xiii. 28. and Marh iv. 17. with
Liike viii. 13.' For what the two firfl call
fcandaUzed^ the laft czWsJiandingoff froj7iy
or forfakingy i. e. not receiving him as

the

as delivered In the Scriptures. 7p

the M'{fficih, {Fid. Mark vL 1—6.) or re-
volting from him. Here Jefiis refers Johfi,
as he did the Jezvs before, to the Tefti-
mony of his Miracles, to know who he
was ; and this was generally his Preaching,
whereby he declared himfclf to be the
Mejjiah \ who was the only Prophet to
come, whom the '^jews had any Expe(^a-
tion of; nor did they look ibr any other
Perlon to be fent to them with the Pov/er
of Mivaclcs, but only the Mejjiah. His
Miracles, we fee by his Anfwer to "John
the Baptipy he thought a fufficient Decla-
ration amongft them, that he was the
MeJjiah. And therefore upon his curing
the Poffefled of the Devil, the Dum.b, and
Blind, Matt. xii. the People, who faw the
Miracle, liiid, ver. 23. Js not this the Son
of David ? As much as to fay, Is not this
the Mejfmh ? Whereat the Pharifees being
offended, faid, He caft out Devils by Beel-
zebub, jefus fhewing the Fallliood and
Vanity of their Blafphemy, juftifies the
Conclufion the People made from this Mi-
racle, faying, ver. 28. That his cafting
out Devils by the Spirit of God, was an
Evidence that the Kingdom of the Mejftah
was come.

One Thing more there was in the Mi-
racles done by his DIfciples, which fhewed
him to be the Mejftah'^ that they were
done in his Name. In the Name of Jefus

8o Thz Reafouahknefs t^Chriflianity,

of Nazareth, rife up and walk^ fays Su
Peter to the lame Man whom he cured in
the Temple, Jets iii. 6. And how far
the Power of that Name reached, they
themfelves feem to wonder, Luke x. 17.
^}id the Seventy returned again with Joy^
faying^ Lord^ even the Devils are Juhjetf to
us in thy Name.

From this Meifage from John iheBaptifi^
he takes Occafion to tell the People, that
John was the Forerunner of the Mefjiah ;
that from the 1 ime of John the Baptifi
the Kingdom of the Mejjtah began ; to
which Time all the Prophets and the Law
pointed, Luke vii. and Matt. xi.

Luke viii. i. Afterwards he went thro*
every City and Fill age ^ preaching and fjew~
Ing the good Tidings oj the Kingdom of God.
Here we fee, as every where, what his
Preaching was, and confequently what was
to be believed.

Soon after, he preaches from a Boat to
the People on the Shore. His Sermon at
large we may read Matt. xiii. Mark iv. and
Luke viii. But this is very obfervable,
that this fecond Sermon of his here, is
quite different from his former in the Mount:
For that was all fo plain and intelligible,
that nothing could be more fo ^ whereas
this is all fo involved in Parables, that even
the Apoftles themfelves did not undcrftand
it. If we enquire into the Reafon.of this,

wc

%

as delivered in the Scriptures, 8 1

we fhall poflibly have fome Light from the
different Subjecls of thefe two Sermons.
There he preached to the People only Mo-
rality ^ clearing the Precepts of the Law
from the falfe Glolfes which were received
in thofe Days, and fetting forth the Duties
of a good Life in their full Obligation and
Extent, beyond what the Judiciary Laws
of the Ifradites did, or the Civil Laws of
any Country could prefcribe or take Notice
of But here, in this Sermon by the Sea-
fide, he fpeaks of nothing but the King-
dom of the MeJJiah^ which he does all ia
Parables. One Reafon whereof St. Matthew
gives us, Chap. xiii. ^^. 7'hat it might be
pdjilkd which was fpoken by the Prophet y
fciying^ I will open my Mouth in Parables^
I will titter things that have been kept fe ere t
from the Foundation of the World. An-
other Reafon our Saviour himfelf gives of
it, ver, II, 12. Becaife to you it is given to
know the My fl tries of the Kingdom of Hea-
veUy but to them it is not given. For who-
foever hathy to him foall be given^ and he
fhall have more abundantly \ but whofoever
hath noty i. e. improves not the Talents
that he hath, from him fniU be taken away
even that he hath.

One Thing it may not be amifs to ob-
ferve, that our Saviour here, in the Expli-
cation of the firll of thefe Parables to his.
Apoftles^ calls the Preaching of the King-

F dom

%2 The Recifonabknefs ^ Chriftianlty,

dom of the MeJJtah^ fimply, The Word ; and
Luke Vn\. ai. The Mord of God : From
whence St. Luke^ in the yi^s^ often men-
tions it under the IS ame of the fVord^ and
the Word of God, as we have elfewhere ob-
ferved. To which I fhall here add that
of y^cJs viii. 4. Therefore they that were
fcattered abroad, went every where preachhig
the Woid\ which Word, as we have found
by examining what they preached all thro*
their Hiftory, was nothing but this, that
Jeftis was the Meffiah : I mean, this was all
the Doclrine they propofed to be believed :
For what they taught, as well as our Sa-
viour, contained a great deal more ; but
that concerned Practice, and not Belief
And therefore our Saviour fays, in the
Place before quoted, Luke V\\\. 21. They
are my Mother and my Brethren who hear
the Word of God, and do it : Obeying
the Law of the Mejfiah their King, being
no lefs required than their believing that
Jcfus was the Meffiah, the King and De-
liverer that was promifed them.

Matt. ix. 13. We have an Account again
of his Preaching ; what it was, and how.
j4nd J-efis went about all the Cities and
Villages teaching in their Synagogues, and
preaching the Gofpel of the Kingdom, and
healing every Sicknefs and every Dlfeafi
amongjl the People. He acquainted them
that the Kingdom of the Mejfiah was come,

and

1

as delivered In the Scriptures. S3

and left it to his Miracles to inftrud and
convince them that he was the Mejftah,

Matt. X. When he fent his Apoftles
Abroad, their Commiflion to preach we
have, ver. 7, 8. in thefe Words : As ye go y
'preach.^ faying.^ T'he Kingdom of Heaven is
at hand ; heal the Sick, &c. All that they
had to preach was, that the Kingdom of
the Mejftah was come. Whofoever Ihould
not receive them, the Meflengers of this
good Tidings, nor hearken to their Mef-
fage, incurred a heavier Doom than Sodom
and Gomorrah at the Day of Judgment,
ver. 14, 15. But ver. 32. TVhoJoever jhaU
cefjfefs me before Men, I will conffs h'lm
before my Father who is in Heaven. What
this confefling of Chrijl is, we may fee by
comparing John xii. 4. with ix. 11. Me^
verthekfsy among the chief Ruhr s aJfo many
believed on him • hut hecaufe of the Pharijees
they did not CO NFESS HIM, lejl they
Jhoiild he put out of the Synagogue. And
Chap. ix. 22. T'hefe ffords J pake his 'Ba-
rents, hecaufe they feared the Jews : For
the Jews had agreed already, that if any Man
did CONFESS THAT HE WAS
'/HE MESSIAH, he Jhould he put out
of the Synagogue. By which Places it is
evident, that to confefs him, was to confefs
that he was the Mejftah. From which give
me Leave to obferve alfo, (what I have
cleared from other Places, but cannot be

F 2 too

S4 ^he ReafoMhknefs o/'Chrlftianity,

too often remarked, becaufe of the diffe-
rent Senfe has been put upon that Phrafe)
viz. that heUevlng on or in him (for g^;
dv-rav is rendered either Way by the Rnglijh
Tranflation) fignifies believing that he was
the Mefjiah' ¥o\: many of the Rulers (the
Text fays) believed on him ; but they durft
not confefs v/hat they believed, for fear
they fhould be pit out of the Synagogue,
Now the Offence for which it was agreed
that any one fhould be put out of the
Synagogue, was, if he did confefs that Jefis
was the Mejjiah. Hence we may have a
clear underflandfng of that Palfage of St.
Paul to the Romans^ where he tells them
pofitively what is the Faith he preaches,
Rom. X. 8, p. That is the Word of Faith
•u^hich we preach ^ that if thou fhalt confefs
with thy Mouth the Lord Jefus^ and believe in
thine Heart that God hath raifed him from
the Dead^ thou foalt be faved : And that
alfo of I John iv. 14, 15. We have feen^
and do tefify^ that the Father fejit the Son
to be the Saviour of the World : Whofoever
fhall confefs that Jefus is the Son of Gody
God dweileth in him^ and he in God. Where
confefling Jcfus to be the Son of God, is
the fame with cohfeffing him to be the
Meffiah ; thofe two Expreffions being under-
Hood amongft the fews to fignify the fame
Thing, as we have Ihewn already.

How

as delivered in the Scriptures. 85

How calling him the Son of God came
to fignify that he was the MeJJiah^ would
not be hard to fhew : But it is enough that
it appears plainly that it was fo ufed, and
had that Import amongfl: the Jews at that
Time ; which if any one defires to have
farther evidenced to him, he may add
Mat.'HY.Ni. 63. JohriYi. 6(). andxi. 27. and
XX. 31. to thofe Places before occafionally
taken Notice of.

As was the Apoftles Commiilion, fuch
was their Performance, as we read Luke
ix. 6. They departed^ and went through the
Towns^ preaching the Gofpel^ and healing
every where. Jefus bid them preach, fay-
ing^ The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.
And St. Luke tells us, they went through
the Towns, preaching the Gofpel ; a Word
which in Saxon anfwers well the Greek
'Eva.f-^\rj; and fignifies, as that docs, good
News. So that what the infpired Writers
call the Gofpel, is nothing but the good
Tidings that the Mejjiah and his Kingdom
was come j and fo it is to be underftood
in the New T'ef anient \ and fo the Angel
calls it good I'ldlngs of great Joy, Luke ii.
10. bringing the firft News of our Saviour's
Birth. And this feems to be all that his
Pifciples were at that Time fent to preach.

So Luke ix. 55), 60. To him that would
have excufed his prefent Attendance, bcr
caufe of burying his Father, Jefus faid

F 3 unto

86 7' he Reafonahlenefs of Chriftianity,

unto him^ Let the Dead bury their Dead,
but go thou mid preach the Kingdom of God.
When I fay this was all they were to
preach, I muft be underflood, that this
was the Faith they preached ; but with it
they joined Obedience to the Mef/iah^whom
they received for their King. So likewife
when he lent out the Seventy, Luke x.
their Commiflion was in thefe Words, ver. c?.
Heal the Slck^ and Jay unto them^ The King-
dom of God is come nigh unto you.

After the Return of his Apoftles to him,
he fits down with them on a Mountain, and
a great Multitude being gathered about
them, St. Luke tells us. Chap. ix. ii. T'he
People joUowed him^ and he received themy
and J pake unto them of the Kingdom of God '^
and healed them that had need of healing.
This was his Preaching to this AfTembly,
which confifted of Five Thoufand Men,
befides W^omen and Children j all which
great Multitude he fed with five Loaves
and two Fifties, Matt. xiv. ii. And what
this Miracle wrought upon them, St. yohn
tells us, Chap. VI, 14, 15. ^hen thefe Men ^
when they had Jeen the Miracle that Jefus
did^ faid, ^his is of a 7'rtith that frophet
that fljould come into the Worlds i. e. the
Mc0ah : For the Mejftah v/as the only Per-
fou that they expecled from God, and this
the Time they looked for him. And hence
John the Baptijiy Mitt, xi, 3. fi:iles him,

Ho

(IS delivered in the Scriptures. 87

He that Jhould come ; as in other Places,
Come from God^ or Setit from Gody are
Phrafes ufed for the Mejfuih,

Here we fee our Saviour keeps to his
ufual Method of Preaching : He Ipeaks to
them of the Kingdom of God, and docs
Miracles, by which they might underftand
him to be the Mejfiahy whofe Kingdom he
Ipake of And here we have the Reafon
alfo, why he fb much concealed himfelf^
and forbore to own his being the MeJJiah,
For what the Confequence was of the Mul-
titudes but thinking him fo, when they
were got together, St. J-ohn tells us in the
very next Words ; When Jefiis then per-
ceived that they would come and take him by
Force to make him a King^ he departed again
into a Mountain himfelf alone. If they
were fo ready to fet him up for their King,
only becaufe they gathered from his Mi-
racles that he was the Mejfiahy whilft he
himfelf faid nothing of it. What would
not the People have done, and what would
not the Scribes and Pharifees have had an
Opportunity to accufe him of, if he had
openly profelfed himfelf to have been the
Mefjidhy that King they looked for ? But
this we have taken Notice of already.

From hence going to Capernaum^ whi-
ther he was followed by a great Part of
the People, whom he had the Day before
fo miraculoufly fed, he, upon the Occalion

F 4 of

88 The Reafonahhnefs o/'Chriftianity,

of their following him for the Loaves, bids
them feek for the Meat that endiireth to
eternal Life : And thereupon, yohn vi.
22—^5). declares to them his being fent
from the Father, and that thofe who be-
lieved in him, fliould be raifed to eternal
Life ; but all this very much involved in
a Mixture of allegorical Terms of eating,
and of Bread, Bread of Life, which came
down from Heaven, &c. Which is all
comprehended and expounded in thefe
fliort and plain Words, ver. j\j and 54.
Verily^ verily I fay unto yoUy he that he-
Ikveth on me^ hath everlaji'mg Life^ and I
will raife him up at the laji Day, The
Sum of all which Difcourfe is, that he was
the Mejjiah fent from God ; and that thofe
who believed him to be lb, fhould be railed
from the Dead at the laft Day to eternal
Life. Thefe who he fpoke to, were of
thofe who the Day before would by Force
have made him King ; and therefore ^tis
no Wonder he lliould fpeak to them of
himfelf, and his Kingdom and Subjects, in'
obfcure and myftical Terms, and fuch as
fhould offend thofe who looked for nothing
but the Grandeur of a Temporal Kingdom
in this World, and the Protedion and
Profperity they had promifcd themfelves
under it. The Hopes of fuch a Kingdom,
now that they had found a Man that did
Miracles, and therefore concluded to be

the
1

as delivered in the Scriptures. 85^

the Deliverer they expcftcd, had the Day
before almoft drawn them into an open
Infurredion, and involved our Saviour in
it. This he thought lit to put a Stop to,
they ftill following him, 'tis like, with the
fame Deiign ; and therefore, though he
here fpeaks to them of his Kingdom, it
was in a way that fo plainly baulked their
Expedation, and fiiocked them, that when
they found themfelvesdifappointed of thofe
vain Hopes, and that he talked of their
eating his Flelh, and drinking his Blood,
that they might have Life, the Jews faid,
ver. 52. How can this Man give us his Fief j
to eat ? Jtnd many^ even of his Dijciples^
Jaid, It was an hard Sayings who can hear
it f And ib were fcandalized in him, and
forfook him, ver. 60, 66. But what the
true Meaning of this Difcourfe of our Sa-
viour was, the Gonfeflion of St. ^eter, who
undcrftood it better, and anfwered for the
reft of the Apoftles, ftiews : When Jcfus
asked him, ver. 67. ^lll ye alfo go away ?
'then Simon Peter anjwered htm^ Lord^ to
whom Jhall we go F 7hou hafi the Words of
eternal Life^ i. e. thou teacheft us the Vv^ay
to attain eternal Life ^ and accordingly we
believe^ and are fure that thou art the
Meiiiah, the Son of the living God. This
M-as the eating his Flelh, and drinking his
Blood, w^hereby thofe who did lo^ had eter-
nal Life.

Some

^o T he Rea/bnabkne/s of Chriftianity,

Some time after this, he enquires of his
Difciples, Mark viii. 27. who the People
took him for ? They telling him, for John
the Eaptift^ or one of the old Prophets
rifen from the Dead ; he asked, What they
themfelves thought ? And here again Peter
anfvvers in thefe Words, Mark viii. 25).
^hott art the Meffiah. Luke ix. 20. ^he
Melliah of God. And Matt. xvi. 16. fhoit
art the MeJIiah, the Son of the living God.
Which Exprellions, we may hence gather,
amount to the fame Thing. Whereupon
our Saviour tells ^eter, Matt. xvi. 17, 1 8.
That this was fuch a Truth as Flejh and
Blood could not reveal to hiniy but only his
Father who was in Heaven ; and that this
was the Foundation on which he was to
build his Church. By all the Parts of
which Paffage it is more than probable,
that he had never yet told his Apoftles in
dired Words that he was the Mejftah^ but
that they had gathered it from his Life and
Miracles. For which we may imagine to
ourfelves this probable Reafon ; becaule
that if he had familiarly, and in direct
Terms, talked to his Apoftles in private
that he was the Mdfjiah^ the Prince of whofe
Kingdom he preaclied fo much in publick
every where, Judas^ whom he knew falfe
and treacherous, would have been readily
made ufe of to teftify againft him, in a
Matter that would have been really criminal

to

as delivered In the Scriptures. 5)1

to the Roman Governor. This perhaps
may help to clear to us that feemingly ab-
rupt Reply of our Saviour to his Apoftles,
yohn vi. 70. when they confefled him to
be the MeJJiah. I will, for the better ex-
plaining of it, fet down the PafTage at large.
/*^^^r having faid, IVehelkve^ and are fare
that thou art the Melliah, the Son of' the
living God. Jefis anfwered theni^ Have
not I chojen you T^welve^ and one of you is
hctl^oX^ ? This is a Reply feeming at
firft Sight nothing to the Purpofe ; when
yet it is fure all our Saviour's Difcourfes
were wife and pertinent. It ieems there-
fore to me to carry this Senfc, to be un-
derftood afterwards by the Eleven, (as that
of deftroying the Temple, and raifing it
again in three Days was) when they fhould
refled on it after his being betrayed by
Judas : You have confefled, and believe
the Truth concerning me : I am the Mejfiah
your King : But do not wonder at it, that
I have never openly declared it to you ;
for amongft you Twelve, whom I have
chofcn to be with me, there is one who is
an Informer, or falfe Accufer, (for fo the
Greek Word fignifies, and may poffibly
here be fo tranflated, rather than Devils
who, if I had owned myfelf in plain
Words to have been the Mefliah, the Kin<r
of Ifracl, would have betrayed me, and

informed againft me.

That

pi I'/je KeaJonahleneJ s o/' Chriftianity,

That he was yet cautious of owning
himfelf to his Apoftles pofitively to be the
MeJJtahy appears farther from the Manner
wherein he tells Peter^ ver. i8. that he
will build his Church upon that Confeflion
of his, that he was the Mejftah. I fay unto
thee, 7hou art Cephas^ or a Rock, and upon
this Rock I will build my Churchy and the
Gates of Hell jJoall ?2oi prevail againji it.
Words too doubtful to be laid hold on
againft him, as a Teftimony that he pro-
felTed himfelf to be the MeJJtah ; efpeciajly
if we join with them the following Words,
ver, I p. And I will give thee the Keys of
the Kingdom of Heaven ; and what thou
fhalt hind on Earthy fhall he bound in Hea-
ven ; and what thou fhalt loofe on Earth,
fhall be loofed in Heaven, Which being
faid perfonally to ^eter, render the fore-
going Words of our Saviour (wherein he
declares the fundamental Article of his
Church to be the believing him to be the
Mefftah) the more obfcure and doubtful,
and lefs liable to be made ufe of againfi
him ; but yet fuch a§ might afterwards be
underftood. And for the fame Reafon he
yet here again forbids the Apoilies to fay
that he was the Meffiah^ ver. 10.

The Probability of this, viz, that he
had not yet told the Apoftles themfelves
plainly that he was the Meftah, is con»
firmed by what our Saviour ifays to them,

John

as delivered in the Scriptures. ^^

John XV. I J. Henceforth I call you not Ser^
vantSp for the Servant knoweth jiot what his
Lord dotth : But I have called you Friendsy
viz. in the foregoing Verfe, for all T'hings
that I have heard of my Father^ I have
made known unto you. This was in his laft .-
Difcourfe with them after Judas was gone
out ; wherein he committed to them the
great Secret by fpeaking of the Kingdom
as his, as appears from Luke xxii. 30. and
telling them feveral other Particulars about
it, whence he had it, what Kingdom it
was, how to be adminillered, and what
Share they were to have in it, &c. From
whence it is plain, that till juft before he '
was laid hold on, the very Moment he was
parting with his Apoftles, he had kept
them as Servants in Ignorance ; but now
had difcovered himfelf openly as to his
Friends.

From this 7'jme^ fay the Evangelifts, Je^
fiis began to fhew to his Difciples^ (/. e. his
Apoftles, who are often called Difciples)
that he rnufi go to Jerufalem, and fuffer
many Things from the Elders^ Chief Priejlsy
and Scribes ; and be killed^ and be raifed
again the third Da)., Matt. xvi. 21. Thefe,
though all Marks of the Mefjiahy yet how
little underftood by the Apoftles, or fuited
to their Expedation of the Msjfiahy ap-
pears from 4^eter's rebuking him for it in

the

^4 ^^^ Reafonabknejs i^/'Chnftlanity,

the following Words, Matt. xvi. 22. Peter
had twice before owned him to be the MeJ-
jiah^ and yet he cannot here bear that he
ihould fuffer, and be put to Death, and be
raifed again ; whereby we may perceive,
how little yet Jefus had explained to the
Apoftles what perfonally concerned him-
felf They had been a good while Wit-
neffes of his Life and Miracles, and there-
by being grown into a Belief that he was
the Mejjiah^ were in fome Degree prepared
to receive the Particulars that were to fill
up the Charader, and anfwer the Prophe-
fics concerning him. This from hence-
forth he began to open to them, (tho*
in a way which the Jews could not form
an Accufation out of) the Time of the
Accomplilhment of all, in his Sufferings,
Death, and Refurredion, now drawing on :
For this was in the laft Year of his Life ;
he being to meet the Jews at Jeriifalem
but once more at the Paflbver, and then
they ftiould have their Will upon him,
and therefore he might now begin to be
a little more open concerning himfelf j
though yet fo, as to keep himfelf out of
the Reach of any Accufation, that might
appear juft or weighty to the Roman
Deputy.

After his Reprimand to Peter., telling
him, That he favoured not the Things of
God, hut of Many Mark yiii. 34. he calls

the

as delivered in the Scriptures. ^^

the People to him, and prepares thofe, who
would be his Difciples, for Suffering ; tell-
ing them, ver. 38. Whoever JloaU he ajharned
of me and my Words in this adulterous and
ftnful Generation^ of him aifo fjjall the Son
of Ma} I be afoamed when he cometh in the
Glory of his Father with the holy Angels :
And then fubjoins, Matt. xvi. 27^ 1%, two
great and folemn Ads, wherein he fhould
ihew himfelf to be the Meffiah the King ;
For the, Son of Man fioall come in the Glory
of his Father^ with his Angels ; and then
he fljoll render every Man according to his
JVorks, This is evidently meant of the
glorious Appearance of his Kingdom, when
he fhall come to judge the World at the
laft Day ; defcribed more at large. Matt.
XXV. JVhen the Son of Man Jhall come in
his Glory., and all the holy Angels with him^
then foall he fit upon the fHRONE of
his Glory, Then Jhall the KING fay to
them on his Right-hand ^ &.c.

But what ibllows in the Place above
quoted, Matt. xvi. 28. Verily., verily., there
he Jo?ne fanding here^ who fjall not tafte
of Death., till they fee the Son of Man
coming in his Kingdom ; importing that
Dominion, which fome there ihould fee
him exercife over the Nation of the Jews ;
was fo covered, by being annexed to the
preceding ver. 27. (where he fpoke of the
Manifeftation and Glory of his Kijigdom

at

p6 The Reafonahhntfs of Chriftianky,

at the Day of Judgment) that though hiV
plain Meaning here in ver. 28. be, that the
Appearance and vifible Exercife of his
kingly Power in his Kingdom was fo near,
tliat fome there fhould live to fee it ; yet
if the foregoing Words had not caft a Sha-
dow over thefe latter, but they had been
left plainly to be underftood, as they
plainly fignified, that he fliould be a King,
and that it was fo near, that fome there
fliould fee him in his Kingdom ; this might
have been laid hold on, and made the
Matter of a plauiible and feemingly juft
Accufation againft him by the '^ews^ be-
fore Pilate. This feems to be the Reafon
of our Saviour's inverting here the Order
of the two folemn Manifeflations to the
World of his Rule and Power ; thereby
perplexing at prefent his Meaning, and
iecuring himfelf, as was neceifary, from
the Malice of the Jews^ which always lay
at catch to intrap him, and accufe him to
the i^o;?2^;^ Governor; and would, no doubt,
have been ready to have alledged thefe
W^ords, Some here pall not tajie of Death^
till they fee the Son of Man coming in his
Kingdom^ againft him as criminal, had not
their Meaning been, by the former Verfe,
perplexed, and the Senfe at that Time
rendered unintelligible, and not applicable
by any of his Auditors to a Senfe that
might have been prejudicial to him before

Pontiui

as delivered in the Scriptures. p/

Ponttiis Pilate. For how well the Chief
of the Jews were difpofed towards him,
St. Luke tells us, Chap. xi. 54. Laying wait
for him^ and fteking to catch fomething out
of his Mouthy that they might accufe him :
Which may be a Reaibn to fatisfy us of
the fecmingly doubtful and obfcure Way
of fpeaking ufed by our Saviour in other
Places ; his Circumftances being fuch, that
without fuch a prudent Carriage and Re-
fervednefs, he could not have gone thro*
the Work which he came to do ; nor have
performed all the Parts of it, in a Way
correfpondent to the Defcriptions given of
the Mefftahy and which would be after-
wards fully underftood to belong to him,
when he had left the W^orld.

After this. Matt. xvii. lo^&c. he, with-
out faying it in dired Words, begins, as
it were, to own himlelf to his Apoftles to
be the Meffiah^ by alTuring them, that as
the Scribes, according to the Prophecy of
Midachvy Chap. iv. 5. rightly faid, ithat
Elias was to ulher in the Meffiah ; {o in-
deed Elias was already come, though the
Jews knew him not, and treated him ill :
Whereby they underfiood that he fpoke to
them of John the Baptift, ver. 13. And
a little after he fomewhat more plainly in-
timates that he is the A/ejJiahy MarkiK. 41,
in thefe Words : ^Vhofoever jhall give you a
Clip of fVater to drink in my Name, hecaufe

G y$

5)S The Reafonahkmfs c/* Chriftianity,

ye belong to the MelTiah. This, as I re-
member, is the firft Place where our Sa-
viour ever mentioned the Name of Mefjiah ;
and the firft Time that he went fo far to-
wards the owning, to any of* the Jewtjh
Nation, himfelf to be him.

In his Way to Jerujalemy bidding one
follow him, Luke ix. 5^. who would firft
bury his Father, ver. 60. Jc/us fa'td unto
hlmy Let the Dead bury their Dead ; but
go thou and j^reach the Kingdom vf God,
And, Luke X, i. fending out the Seventy
Difciplcs, he fays to them, ver. p. Heal
the 6'/cky and Jay, ^he Kingdom of God is
come nigh unto yon. He had nothing elfe
for thefe, or for his Apoftles, or any one,
it feems, to preach, but the good News
of the Coming of the Kingdom of the
MeJJiah. And if any City would not re-
ceive them, he bids them, ijer. 10. Go
into the Streets of the Jame^ and fay^
Even the very Duft of your City^ which
cleaveth on ns^ do we wipe off' again fi
you : Kotwithfi an dingy be ye fare of this^
that the Kingdom of God is come nigh
unto you. This they were to take Notice
of, as that which they Ihould dearly an-
fwer for, viz. that they had not with
Faith received the good Tidings of the

Kingdom of the

After

aj delivered in the Scriptures. ^^

After this, his Brethren fay unto him,
yohii vii. 2, 3, 4. (the Feaft of Tabernacles
being near) Depart hence^ and go into Judea,
that thy Dijciples may Jee the fVorks that
thou doefi : Far there is no Man that does
any thing in fee ret ^ and he himfiJf feeketh to
he known openly. If thou do thefe fhings^
fhew thy f If to the fVorld. Here his Bre-
thren, which the next Verfe tells us, did not
believe him, feem to upbraid him with the
Incdnliftcncy of his Carriage ; as if he de-
figa'd to be receiv'd for the MeJ/lahy and yet
was afraid to fhew himfelf : To whom he
juftified his Gondud, (mention'd, v. i.) in
the following Verfes, by telling them, That
the World (meaning the Jews efpecially)
hated hiniy hecatfe he te fifed ofit^ that the
JVorks thereof are evil ; and that his Time
was not yet fully cotne^ wherein to quit his
Refervc, and abandon himfelf freely to
their Malice and Fury. Therefore, though
he went up.unto the Feafy it was not openly y
hut as it were infecrety v. 10. And here
coming into the Temple about the middle
of the Feaft, he juftifies his being fent from
God ; and that he had not done any thing
againft the Law, in curing the Man at the
Pool oi Eethefday John v. i- — 16. on the
Sabbath-day ; which, though done above
a Year and a half before, they made ufe of
as a Pretence to dcftroy him. But what
was the true Reafon of feeking his Life,
G a appears

I CO 'the Reafonahlenefs of Chriftianity,

appears from what wc have in this viith
Chapter y ver. 25—34. I'hen fa'id fome of them
at Jerufalem, Is tiot this he whom they feek
to kill? But loy he fpeaketh boldly ^ and they
fay nothing unto him. Do the Rulers know
indeed that this is the very Meiliah ? How~
heity "oje know this Man whence he is ; but
whsn the Meiliah comet h^ no Man knoweth
whence he is. i'hen cried Jefus in the T'em-
pky as he taught y ye both know me, and ye
know whence I am : And lam not come of my
felf-but he that fent me is true, whom ye
know not. But I know him, for I am from
him, and he hath fent me. Ihen they J ought
J^an Occafion] to take him, but no Man lays
Hands on him, becaufe his Hour zvas not yet
come. And many of the People believed on
him, and f aid, When the Mefliah cometh, will
he do more Miracles than theje zvhich this
Man hath done ? ^he 'Sharif ees heard that
the ^^eople murmured filch things concerning
him ; and the '^harifees and Chief ^riefls
fent Officers to take him. Then faid fefus
unto them, Tet a little while am I with you,
and then I go to him that fent me : Te jlonll
feek me, and not find me -, and where I am,
there you cannot come. Then faid the Jews
an'iong themfehes, moither will he go, that
we fhall not find him ? Here we find, that
the great Fault in our Saviour, and the
great Provocation to the fews^ was, his be-
ing taken for the Mejftah j and doing fuch

Things

as delivered in /i*^ Scriptures. loi

Things as made the People believe in htm ,
/. e. believe that he was the MeJJiah* Here
alio our Saviour declares, in Words very
cafy to be underftood, at leaft after his
Refurre6lion, that he was the Mejfuih: For
lihtvftxtjent fromGody and did his Mira-
cles by the Spirit of God, there could be
no doubt but he was the Mejjiah. But yet
this Declaration was in. a Way that the Pha-
rifees and Priefts could not lay hold on to
make an Accufation of to the Difturbance
of his Miniftry, or the Seizure of his Per-
fon, how much foever they defired it : For
his Time was not yet come. The Officers
they had lent to apprehend him, charm-
ed with his Difcourfe, returned without
laying Hands on him, v. 45, 46. And when
the Chief Priefts asked them, Why they
brought him not ? They anfwcr'd. Never
JManfpake like this Man. Whereupon the
Phariiees reply. Are ye aljo deceived? Have
any of the Rulers of the ^harifees believed
on him ? But this People, who know not
the Law, are cnrfed. This fhews what was
meant by believing on him, viz. believing
that he was the Mejjiah. For, fay they,
have any of the Rulers who are skill'd in
the Law, or of the devout and learned
Phariiees, acknowledg'd him to be the
Meffiah ? For as for thofe who, in the
pivifion among the People concerning him,
fay, That he is the Mejjiah, they are igno-

G 3 rant

loa fhe Reafonablenefs of Chriftianity,

rant and vile Wretches, knowing nothing
of the Scripture, and being accurfed, are
given by God to be deceived by this Im-
poftor, and to take him for the Meffiah.
Therefore, notwithftanding their Defire to
lay hold on him, he goes on : And v. 37,
38. In the hifl and great Day of the Feaft^
Jefus flood and crkd, fiy'mg^ If any Man
thirfly let Mm come tmto me and drink : He
that helieveth on me^ as the Scripture hath
faidy out of his Belly Jh all flow Rivers of
living fVater. And thus he here again de-
clares himfelf to be the Mefliah j but in
the propbetick Stile, as we fee by the next
Verfe of this Chapter, and thofe Places in
the Old Teftament that thefe Words of our
Saviour refer to.

In the next Chapter, John viii. all that
he fliys concerning himfelf, and what they
were to believe, tends to this, viz. That
he was fent from God his Father, and that
if they did not believe that he was the
MeJJiahy they Ihould die in their Sins : But
this in a way, as St. 'John obferves, v. 27.
that they did not well underftand. But
our Savaour himfelf tells them, v. 28. TVhen
ye have lift up the Son of Man-, then fhall ye
know that I am he.

Going from them he cures the Man born
blind, w^hom meeting with again, after
the Jezvs had queftioned him, and call him

out, John ix. 35 38. Jefus J aid to him^

Doji

as delivered in the Scriptures. 103

Dofi thou believe on the So?? of God F He an-
Jive red J Who is he^ Lord^ that I might believe
on him ? ^nd J ejus J aid unto him^ Thou hafl
hothjeen him^ and it is he that talketh zv'ith
thee. And he faid^ Lord., I believe. Here
we fee this Man is pronounced a Belie ver^
when all that was propofed to him to be-
lieve, was, that Jefus was the Son of God 'y
which was, as we have already fhewn, to
believe that he was the Mejftah.

In the next Chapter, y^/?;; x. i 21, he

declares the laying down of his Lito for
both Je'i^s and Gentiles ; but in a Parable
which they underftood not, v. 6 20.

As he was going to the Feaft of the De-
dication, the Pharifecs ask him, Luke xvii.
20. M^hen the Kingdom of God., i. e. of the
Mejftah., Jhould come ? He anfwers, that it
fhall not come with Pomp and Obferva-
tion, and great Goncourfe ; but that it was
already begun amongft them. If he had
ftopt here, the Senfe had been fo plain,
that they could hardly have miftakcn him;
or have doubted, but that he meant, that
the lifejfjah was already come, and amongft
them ; and fo might have been prone to
infer, that Jefus took upon him to be him.
But here, as in the Place before taken no-
tice of, fubjoining to this future Revela-
tion of himfelf, both in his coming to
execute Vengeance on the Jezi's., and m
his coming to Judgment mixed together,
(r 4 he

104 ^he Beafonahlenefs (?/"Chnftianity,

he fo involved his Senfe, that it was not
cafy to underftand him. And therefore the
Jaws came to him again in the Temple,
'John X. ::3. and faid, How long doji thou
make us doubt ? If thou be Chrlji^ tell us
flahdy, Jefus anjwered^ I told yoii^ and ye
BELIEVED not : fhe mrls that I do
in my Father's Name, they bear wttnefs of
^e. But ye BELIE.VED not^ becaufe
fe are not of my Sheep ^ as I told you. The
BELIEVING here, which he accufes
them of not doing, is plainly their not
BELIEVING him to be the 7l^£/^^?/:', as
the foregoing Words evince, and in the
fame Senfe it is evidently meant in the fol-
lowing Verfes of this Chapter.

From hence, Jefus going to Barbara^ and
thence returning into Bethany^ upon Laza-
rus s Death, John xi. 25 27. Jefus faid

to Martha^ I am the RefurreUmi and the
Life ; he that beUeveth hi me^ though he
were deady yet he /hall live ; and whofoever
Uveth and bel'ieveth in me^ floall jievdr die
for ever. So I underftand ')>7n^^(ivY\ &<; -roV
a{»ra, anfwerable to ^j^jerat ik tow diSiva^ of
the Seftuaglnty Gen. iii. 11. or John vi. ji.
which we read right in our Englijh Tranlla-
tion, Live for ever '^ but whether this Saying'
of our Saviour here can with Truth be
tranflated, He that Tiveth and bel'ieveth in me^
fhall never die^ will be apt to be qucftioned.
But to go on, Belteveji thou this'? She faid

unto

as delivered In the Scriptures. 105

unto him. Tea, Lord, I believe that thou art
the Mefliah, the Son of God, which Jljould
come into the World, This fhe gives as a
full Anfwer to our Saviour's Demands ;
this being that Faith, which whoever had,
wanted no more to make them Believers.

We may obferve farther, in this fame
Story of the railing q{ Lazarus, what Faith
it was our Saviour expected, by what he
fays, ■;:;. 41, 42. Father, I thank thee that
thou haft heard me -, and I hwu) that thou
hear eft me always. But becauje of the ^eo^
flc who Jl and by. If aid it, that they m.ay be-
lieve that thou haft fent me. And what the
Confequence of it was, we may fee, v. 45.
Then many of the Jews who came to Mary,
and had feen the Things which Jefus did, be-
lieved on him. : Which Belief was, that he
\\2iS Jent from the Father ; which, in other
Words, was, that he was the Mejjiah. That

this is the Meaning, in the Evangelifls, ot
the Phrafe of believing on him, we have a
Demonftration in the following Words, v.
47, 48. Then gathered the Chief PricJIs and
Pharifees a Council, and f aid, Ifljat dowef
For this Man does miany Miracles ; And if
we let him alone, all Men will BE LIEFE
O N HIM. Thofe who here fay, all Men
would BELIEVE ON HIM, were the
Chief Priefts and Pharifees, his Enemies,
who fought his Life ; and therefore could
have no other Senfe nor Thought of this

Faith

106" 'fhe Reafonahlenefs ^Chriftianlty,

Faith in him, which they Ipake of, but
only the believing him to be the Mejfiah :
And that that was their Meaning, the ad-
joining Words fhew ; If we let htm alom^
all the IVorld will believe en him^ i. e. be-
lieve him to be the MeJJiah. jind the Ro-
mans will come and take away both our Place
and Nation, Which Reaibning of theirs
was rlius grounded : If we Hand ftill, and
ler the People Believe on him^ i. e. receive
him for the MejJlah^ they will thereby take
him and fee him up for their King, and ex-
pect Deliverance by him ; which will draw
the Roman Arms upon us, to the Deftrudion
of us and our Country. The Romans could
not be thought to be at all concerned in
any other Belief whatfoever that the Peo-
ple might have on him. It is therefore
plain, that believing on him^ was by the Wri-
ters of the Gofpel underftood to mean, the
believing hiryi to be the MefHah. ^he San-
hedrim therejore^ ver. S3yS4'fi^^^^ ^^'^^ J^^^J
forth confaltcd to pit him to Death, Jefus
therefore walked not yet (for ^o the Word
\r\ fignifies, and io I think it ought here
to be tranllated) boldly^ or openfac'd among
the Jews, i. e, of Jenifnlem. '^Eri cannot
wxll here be tranflated no more, becaule
within a very Hiort Time after, he appeared
openly at the PaiTover, and by his Miracles
and Speech, declared himfelf more freely
than ever he had done j and all the Week

before

as delivered In the Scriptures. 107

before his Paflion, taught daily in the Tem-
ple, Matt, XX. 17. Mark x. 32. Ltike xviii.
31, &c. The Meaning of this Place feems
therefore to be this : That his Time being
not yet come, he durfl not Ihew himfelf
openly, and confidently, before the Scribes
and Pharifees, and thofe of the Sanhedrim
at yernfakm^ who were full of Malice
againft him, and refolved his Death : But
went thence into a Country near the JVil-
dernejsy ifito a City called Ephraim, and
there continued "j:ith his Difcipks^ to keep
himfelf out of the Way till the PalTover,
which was nigh at Hand^ ver. 55. In his
Return thither, he takes the Twelve afide,
and tells them before-hand what fnould
happen to him at Jernfakmy whither they
were now going ; and that all Things that
are written by the Prophets concerning the
Son of Man, fhould be accomplifhed : that
he ftiould be betray 'd to the Chief Priefts
and Scribes ; and that they fhould con-
demn him to Death, and deliver him to
the Gentiles ; that he fhould be mocked,
and Ipit on, and fcourg'd, and put to Death •
and the third Day he fhould rife again.
But St. Luke tells us, chap, xviii. 34. That
the Apoftles tinder jiood none oftheje things ^
and this Jaying was hid from them ; neither
knew they the Things which were Jpoken,
They believed him to be the Son of God,
the Mejiah fcnt from the Father j but their

Notion

io8 7he Reafonahlenefs o/'Chriftlanity,

Notion of the Mejjtah was the fame with
the reft of the Jews ; that he lliould be a
Temporal Prince and Deliverer : Accord-
ingly we fee, Mark x. ^^, that even in this
their laft Journey with him to Jerujcileniy
two of them, James and yohn^ coming to
him, and falling at his Feet, faid. Grant
unto ns^ that we may Jit^ one on thy right
Handy and the other on thy Up Hand^ In thy
Glory ; or, as St Matthew has it, chap. xx.
2,1. /;; thy Kingdom. That which diftin-
guifhed them from the unbelieving JewSy
was, Ttiat they believed Jefus to be the
very Mejjtahy and fo received him as their
King a".d Lord.

And now the Hour being come that the
Son of Man Ihould be gloriiied, he, with-
out his ufual Referve, makes his publick
Entry into Jerujale?ny riding on a young Afs:
yls it is written^ Fear not^ Daughter ofSioriy
behold thy Ki?ig cometh^ fitting on an yljss
Colt. But theje things^ fays St. John^ chap,
xii. id. his Difciples under flood not at the
firfi ; Bat when "Jejiis was glorifedy then
rememhred they that theJe things werewrit^
ten ofhim, and that they had done thefe things
unto him. Though the Apofrles believed
him to be the Mejjiahy yet there were many
•Occurrences of his Life which they under-
Itood not, (at the time when they hap-
pened) to be foretold of the MeJJiah\ which
after his Afcenfion they found exadly to

quadrate.

as delivered hi the Scriptures. lo^

quadrate. Thus, according to what was
foretold of him, he rode into the City, all
the People crying Hojanna^ Bkjpd is the
King 0/ Ifrael, that cometh in the Name of
the Lord. This was {^o open a Declaration
of his being the Me£iah^ that Liike xix. 3^.
Some of the Pharifees frora among the Multi-
tude^ J'aidunto him^ Mafler^ rebuke thy Dif-
ciplcs. But he was fo far now from flopping
them, or difowning this their Acknowledg-
ment of his being the Mejjiahy that h^faid
unto them^ I tell you^ that if thefe fhould hold
their Peace^ the Stones would immediately
cry out. And again, upon the like Occa-
fion of their crying Hofanna to the Son of
David, in the Temple, Matt. xxi. 15, 10.
When the Chief Priejis and Scribes were fore
difpleafed, and fiid unto him, Hearefi thou
what they' fay ^ Jefus Jaid unto them^ Teaj
Have ye never read. Out of the Mouths of
Babes and Sucklings thou haji perfeBed
Praife^ And now, v. 14, 15. He cures
the Blind and the Lame openly /;; the T^em-
ple. And when the Chief Priefis and Scribes
fazv the wonderful things that he did, and the
Children crying in the 'Tefnple Hofanna^ they
were enraged. One would not think, that
after, the Multitude of Miracles that our Sa-
viour had row been doins; for above three
Years together, that the curing the Lame .
and Blind fhould fo much move them. But
we mull remember, that tho' his Miniilry

had

1 1 o The Reafonahkmfs of Chriftianity,

had abounded with Miracles, yet the moft
of them had been done about Gal'ike^ and
in Parts remote from J-enifakm. There is
but one left upon Record hitherto done in
that City ; and that had fo ill a Reception, '
that they fought his Life for it ; as we may
read John v. 1 6, And therefore we hear
not of his being at the next Paffbver, be-
caufe he was there only privately, as an
ordinary Jew : The Realbn whereof we
may read, yohn vii. i. ur^fter thefe things^
J^Jus walked in Galilee, jor he would not
walk in Jewry, hecatije the, ^tws fought to
kill him.

Hence we may guefs the Reafon why
St. John omitted the Mention of his being
at Jerufalem at the third Paflbver after his
Baptifm • probably becaufe he did nothing
memorable there. Indeed, when he was
at the Feaft of Tabernacles, immediately
preceding this laft PafTover, he cured the
Man born blind : But it appears not to
have been done in Jernlalem it felf, but
in the Way as he retired" to the Mount of
Olives ; for there leems to have been no
body by, when he did it, but his Apoftles.
Compare "jer. 2. withver.^y 10. of Sufohn
ix. This, at leaft, is remarkable^ that nei-
ther the Cure of this blind Man, nor that
of the other infirm Man, at the Paflbver
above a Twelvemonth before at Jerufalemy
was done in the Sight of the Scribes, Pha-

lifces^

as delivered in the Scriptures. 1 1 1

rifees, Chief Priefts, or Rulers. Nor was
it without Reafon, that in the former Part
of his Miniftry he was cautious of Ihew-
ing himfelf to them to be the MeJJiah,
But now, that he was come to the laft
Scene of his Life, and that the PaiTover
was come, the appointed Time wherein he
was to compleat the Work he came for, in
his Death and Refurredion, he does many
things in Jeriifakm it felf, before the Face
of the Scribes, Pharifees, and whole Bo-
dy of the Jewif) Nation, to manifeft
himfelf to be the Mejfiah. And, as Si. Luke
fays, chap. xix. 47, 48. He taught daily in
the T'emple : But the Chief Priefis^ and the
Scribes^ aiid the chief of the People^ fi^ght
to deflroy him ; And could not Jind what
they might doy for all the People were very
attentive to hear hira. What he taught we
are not left to guefs^ by what we have
found him conftantly preaching cllewhere:
But St. Luke tells us, chap. xx. i. He taught
in the Tempky and Evangelized ; or, as we
tranilate it, preached the Gofpel : Which,
as we have fhewed, was the making known
to them the good News of the Kingdom
of the Mefjiah. And this we fhall find he
did, in what now remains of his Hiftory.

In the firft Difcourfe of his, which we
find upon Record after this, John xii. 20.
&c. he foretells his Crucifixion, and the
Belief of all Sorts, both Jews and Gen-

tiles,

1 1 a I'ht Reafonabknefs ^Ghriftianity,

t'tlesy on him after that. Whereupon the
People lay to him, ver. 34. J^Ve have heard
out of the Law^ that the Meffiah abideth
for ever ; and how fayeji thoti^ That the Son
of Man mufi he lifted up ? JVho ts this Son
of Alan ? In his Anfwer he plainly de-
figns himfelf, under the Name of Lighty
which was what he had declared himfelf
to them to be, the laft Time that they had
feen him in Jcrujalem. For then at the
Feaft of Tabernacles, but fix Months be-
fore, he tells them in the very Place where:
he now is, viz. in the Temple, / am the
Light of the ^Forld ; whofoever follows me^
foall not walk in Darknefs^ hut foall have
the Light of Life : As we may read John
viii. 1 2. and ix. 5. he fays, As long as I
am in the World ^ I am the LlGHf of the
JVorld. But neither here, nor any where
elfe, does he, even in theie four or five
laft Days of his Life (though he knew his
Hour was come, and was prepared for his
Death, ver. iy. and fcrupled not to mani-
feft himfelf to the Rulers of the Jews to
be the Meffiah^ by doing Miracles" before
them in the Temple) ever once in dired
Words own himfelf to the Jezvs to be the
Meffiah ; though by Miracles, and other
Ways, he did every where make it known
to them, fo that it might be underftood»
This could not be without fome Reafon ;
and the Preferyation of his Life, which he

came

as delivered in the Scriptures, 113

came now to Jertifale?n on purpofe to lay-
down, could not be it. What other Rca-
fon could it then be, but the fame which
had made him life Caution in the former
Part of his Miniftry ; fo to condud him-
felf, that he might do the Work which he
came for, and in all Parts anfwer the Cha-
rader given of the MeJJiah in the Law and
the Prophets ? He had fulfilled the Time
of his Miniftry, and now taught and did
Miracles openly in the Temple, before the
Rulers and the People, not fearing to be
feizcd : But he would not be feized for
any thing that might make him a Criminal
to the Government \ and therefore he
avoided giving thofe, who in the Divifion
that was about him inclined towards him,
occafion of Tumult for his Sake ; or to
the Jews^ his Enemies, Matter of juft
Accufation againft him out of his own
Mouth, by pro felling himfelf to be the
Mefftah^ the King of J/rael, in direct
Words. It was enough, that by Words
and Deeds he declared it fo to them, that
they could not but underftand him j which
'tis plain they did, Luke xx. 16, i^. Matt.
xxi. 45. But yet neither his Adions,
which were only doing of Good j nor
Words, which were myftical and parabo-
lical ; (as we may fee Matt. xxi. and xxii>
and the parallel Places of Matthew and
Luke) nor any of his Ways of making

H himfelf

114 The Reafonahknefs o/' Chriftianlty,

himfelf known to be the MeJJiah^ could
be brought in Teftimony, or urged againft
him, as oppofite or dangerous to the Go-
vernment. This preferyed him from being
condemned as a Malefaclor, and procured
him a Teftimony from the Roman Gover-
nor, his Judge, that he was an innocent
Man, facrificed to the Envy of the Jewjjh
Nation. So that he avoided faying that he
was the Meffiab J that tothofe who could call
to mind his Life and Death after his Re-
furredion, he might the more clearly ap-
pear to be fo. It is farther to be remarked,
that though he often appeals to the Tefti-
mony of his Miracles who he is, yet he
never tells the ^ews that he was born at
Bethlehem^ to remove the Prejudice that
lay againft him, whilft he pafled for a
Galilean^ and which was urged as a Proof
that he was not the Mejjiah^ 'John vii. 41,
42. The healing of the Sick, and doing
of Good miraculoufly, could be no Crime
in him, nor Accufation againft him ; but
the naming of Bethkhem for his Birth-
place, might have wrought as much upon
the Mind of Pilate^ as it did on Jitrod's j
and have raifed a Sufpicion in Pilate as
prejudicial to our Saviour's Innocence, as
Herod's was to the Children born there.
His pretending to be born at Bethkhem, as
it was liable to be explained by the JewSy
could not have failed to have met with a

fmifter

as delivered in the Scriptures, 1 15

finiftcr Interpretation in the Roman Gover-
nor, and have rendered Jefus ftifpecled of
lonie criminal Defign againfl the Govern-
ment. And hence we fee, that when P/-
late asked him, John xix. ^. JVhence art
thou ^ Jefus gave him no Aiifvjer.

Whether our Saviour had not an Eye to
this Straitnefs, this narrow Room that was
left to his Condud, between the new Con-
verts and the captious J-ews, when he fayfi,
Luke xii. 50. I have a Baptijm to he hap'
tized withj and ir-£^ (Sujui;^oiu.:iiy how am I
Jiraitetfed till it be accompUjhedy I leave to
be confidered. I am come to fend Fire on
the Earthy fays our Saviour, and what if
it he already kindled ? i. e. there begin al-
ready to be Divifions about me, vide John
vii. 12,43. and ix. 16. and X. ip. and I
have not the Freedom, the Latitude, to
declare myfelf openly to be the Meffiah ;
though I am he, that muft not be fpoken
out till after my Death. My Way to my
Throne is clofely hedged in on every Side,
and much ftraitened, within which I muft
keep, till it bring me to my Crofs, in its
due Time and Manner, fo that it do not
cut fhort the Time, nor crofs the End of
my Miniftry.

And therefore to keep up this inofFenfive
Character, and not to let it come within
the Reach of Accident or Calumny, he
withdrew with his Apoitles out of the

H 0. Town

ii6 I'he Reafojmhlenefs o/"Chiiftianity,

Town every Evening, and kept himfelf
retired out of the way, Luke xxi. 37. y^fid
in the Day-time he was teaching in the
'temple^ and every Night he went out, and abode
in the Mount that is called the Mount of
Olives ; that he might avoid all Concourfe
to him in the Night, and give no Occafion
of Difturbance or Sufpicion of himfelf in
that great Conflux of the whole Nation of
the 'Jews, now aflembled in Jerufakm at
the Paflbver.

But to return to his Preaching in the
Temple : He bids them, John xii. ^6,
^0 believe in the Light whilji they have it :
And he tells them, ver. 46. I am the Light
.come into the World, that every one zvho
believes in me flould not remain in Dark-
nefs. Which believing in him, was the
believing him to be the Meffiah, as I have
clfewhere fhcwed.

The next Day, Matt. xxi. he rebukes
them for not having believed John the
Baptifty who had teftified that he w^as the
Meffiah : And then, in a Parable, declares
himfelf to be the Son of God, whom they
fhould deftroy ^ and thiit for it God would
take away the Kingdom of the Meffiah
from them, and give it to the Gentiles.
That they underftood him thus, is plain
from T^uke xx. \6. Jnd when they heard it^
they fiid, God forbid. And ver. ip. For

they

as delivered in the Scriptures. 1 1 y

they knew that he had /poke n this Parable
agaiiift them.

Much to the fame Purpofe was his next
Parable concerning the Kingdom of Hcavev,
Matt. xxii. i — lo. that the yews not ac-
cepting of the Kingdom of the Meffiah^ to
whom it was iirft offered, others fliould be
brought in.

The Scribes and Pharifees and Chief
Priefts, not able to bear the Declaration he
made of himlelf to be the Mejfiah., (by
his Difcourfes and Miracles before them,
ijui-rr^S^v avi^Vy John xii. "^y. which he
had never done before) impatient of his
Preaching and Miracles, and being not able
otherwile to ftop the Increafe of his Fol-
lowers, {For ^f aid the Pharifees among them-
felves^ perceive ye how ye prevail nothing ?
Behold^ the IVorld is gone after him^ John
xii. I p. So that the Chief of Priefis, and the
Scribes., and the Chief the People) fought to
deftroy him., the Iirft Day of his Entrance
into "Jernfalemy Luke xi>:. 47. The next
Day again they were intent upon the fame
Thing, Mark xi. 17, 18. ylnd he taught
in the Temple ; and the Scribes and the
Chief Priefls heard it., and fought how they
might deftroy him \ for they feared him., be-
caufe all the People were aflouijhed at his
Dotfrine.

The next Day but one, upon his tellin^^
them the Kingdom of tiie Mefftah Ihould

H X be

1 1 S 7' he Reafonable72efs of Chriftianity,

be taken from them, the Chief Prtefis and
Scr'thes fought to lay Hands oji hhn the fame
Hour \ and they feared the People^ Luke
XX. i5>. If they had fo great a Defire to
lay hold on him, vvhy did they not ? They
were the Chief Priefts and the Rulers, the
Men of Power. The Reafon St. Luke
plainly tells us in the next Verfe, And they
watched hhn^ and fent forth Spiesy which
fhoutd feign thewjehes jufi Men^ that they
might take hold of his Words ^ that fo they
might deliver him Into the Power and Au-
thority of the Governor, They wanted
Matter of Accufation againft him to the
Power they were under : That they watched
for, and that they would have been glad
of, if they could have entangled hhn in his
T'alk^ as St. Matthezv exprelTes it. Chap,
xxii. 15. If they could have laid hold on
any Word that had dropt from him, that
might have rendered him guilty or fufpecl-
ed to the Ro?nan Governor ; that would
have ferved their Turn^ to have laid hold
upon him, with Hopes to deftroy him :
For their Power not anf/vering their Ma-
lice, they could not put him to Death by
their ov/n Authority, without the PermJf-
lion and Afiiirance of the Governor, as
they confefs, 'John xyiii. 31. // Is not law^
fid for us to put any Man to Death. This
made them fo earneft for a Declaration in
direct \¥ords from his own Mouth, that lie

was

as delivered in the Scriptures. 1 1 ®

was the MeJJiah. 'Twas not that they
would more have believed in him, for fuch
a Declaration of himfclf, than they did for
his Miracles, or other Ways of making
himfelf known, which it appears they
underftood well enough ; but they wanted
plain direct Words, fuch as might fupport
an Accufation, and be of Weight before
an Heathen Judge. This was the Reafon
why they preflTed him to fpeak out, John
X. 24. Then came the Jews round about
him^ and faid unto h'lm^ How long do ft thou
hold us in Sufpenfe ? If thou be the Melliah,
teU us •? Lj4 INLT^ nrccfptiTMy i. e, indi-
rect Words : For that Si. John ufes it. in
that Senfe, we may fee Chaj). xi. 11 — 14.
Jefus faith to them, Lazarus jlee^eth. His
Difciples faid, If he Jleeps^ he fball do
well. Ho-'j:jhiiity Jefus fpake of his Death ;
but they thought he had fpoken of taking of
Reft in Sleep. T'hen J aid Jefus . to them
plainly^ Trapf/icj-Za, Lazarus is dead. Here
we fee what is meant by ^al'^mlct^ PLAIN
dired Words, fuch as exprefs the Thing
without a Figure ; and fo they would have
had Jefus pronounce himfelf to be the
Mejfah. And the fame Thing they preis
again. Matt. xvi. 63. the High Priell ad-
juring him by the living God, to tell them
whether he were the Meffiah^ the Sow of
God, as we ihall have Occafion to take
Notice by-and-by.

H 4 This

120 'if he Reafonahlenefs of Chriftianity,

This we may obferve in the whole Ma-
nagement of their Defign againft his Life.
It turned upon this ; that they wanted and
w^ifhed for a Declaration from him, in di-
reft Words, that he was the Mtjfiah ;
fomething from his own Mouth, that might
offend the Roman Power, and render him
criminal to Pilate. In the 21ft Verfe of
this 20th of St. Luke^ 7'hey asked Mm^fay-
ingy Majier^ we know that thou fayeji and
ieacheji rightly ; neither accepteji thou the
Perfon of any^ hut teachefl the fVay of God
truly. Is it lawful for ns to give Irihtite to
Cxfar, or no ? By this captious Queftion
they hoped to catch him, which way {o~
ever he anfwered ; for if he had faid, they
ought to pay Tribute to Ccefar^ 'twould
be plain he allowed their Subjection to the
Romans^ and fo in effecl: difowned himfelf
to be their King and Deliverer ; whereby
he would have contradicted, what his Car-
riage and Dodlrine feemed to aim at, the
Opinion that was fpread amongft the Peo-
ple, that he was the Mejjiah. This would
have quafhed the Hopes, and deftroyed
the Faith of thofe who believed on him,
and have turned the Ears and Hearts of
the People from him. \i^ on the other
Side, he anfwered At?, it is not lawful to
pay Tribute to Q-e/hr, they had had out of
his own Mouth wherewithal to condemn
him. before Pontius Pilate. But Si. Luke

tells

as delivered /;; the Scriptures. 1 1 1

tells us, ver, 23. He perceived their Crafti-'
nefsy and faid unto the77i^ Why tempt ye me?
7. e. Why do ye lay Snares for me ? /^
Hypocrites^ Jhew niQ the Tribute-Money :
So it is, Matt. xxii. 19. Whofe Image and
Jnfcription has it ? T'hey faid^ Csefar'j. He
faid unto them^ Render therefore to Caefar
the 'Things that are Csefar'j-; and to God the
'Things that are God's, By the Wiiciom
and Caution of which unexpeded Anfwer,
he defeated their whole Defign. yind they
could not take hold of his Words before the
People ; and they marvelled at his Anfwer ^
and held their Peace, Luke xx. 26. and
leaving him, they departed, Matt. xxii. 22.

He having by this Reply (and what he
anfvvered to the Sadducees concerning the
Refurredion, and to the Lawyer about the
Firft Commandment, Mark xii.) anfwered
i^o little to their Satisfaction or Advantage,
they durft ask him no more Queftions any
of them. And now their Mouths being
flopped, he himfelf begins to queftion
them about the Meffiah, asking the Pha-
rifees, Matt, xxii. 41. What think ye of
the Mefliah, whofe Son is he f They fay
■unto him, 'The Son of David : Wherein,
though they anfwered right, yet he fhews
them, in the following Words, that how-
ever they pretended to be Studiers and
Teachers of the Law, yet they underftood
not clearly the Scriptures concerning the

Mejftah ;

121 7 he Reafonablenefs of Chriflianity,

Mejjlah ; and thereupon he Iharply rebukes
their Hypocrify, Vanity, Pride, Malice,
Covetoufnefs and Ignorance ^ and particu-
larly tells them, ver. 13. Te float up the
Kingdom of Heaven againft Men j for ye
neither go in yourfelves^ nor fuffer ye thera
that are entering^ to go hi. Whereby he
plainly declares to them, that the MeJJiah
was come, and his Kingdom began ^ but
that they refufed to believe in him them-
felves, and did all they could to hinder
others from believing in him, as is manifeft
throughout the New T'ejrameiit ; the Hi-
llory whereof fufficiently explains what is
meant here by the Kingdom of Heaven^
which the Scribes and Pharifees would
neither go into themfelves, nor fuffer others
to enter into. And they could not chufe
but underftand him, though he named not
himfelf in the Cafe.

Provoked anew by his Rebukes, they
get prefently to Council, Matt. xxvi. Then
ajfenibled together the Chief Priefisy and the
Scribes^ and the Riders of the People ^ unto
the Palace of the High-'^rie/i, who was
called C2.l'3.^hd.Sy and conjhlted that they might
take Jefiis by Siibtilty^ and hill him. But
theyfaidy Not on the Feaft-day^ left there be
an Uproar among4he People. For they feared
the People J {kys St. Lute, Chap. xxii. 2.

Having in the Night got Jefas into their
Hands, by the Treachery of Judas, they

prefently

as delivered hi the Scriptures. 1 13

prefently led him away bound to Jlnnas^
the Father-in-law of Ccm^has the High^
Pricft, who probably having examined
him, and getting nothing out of him
for his Purpofe, fends him away to Cam-
fhasy 'John xviii. 24. where the Chief Pi icfts,
the Scribes, and the Elders were affem-
bled, Mc'.tt. xxvi. 57. John xviii. ip, 20,
'The H'lgh-Priejl then asked Je fas of his D'lJ-
clplesy and of Ms DoBrine. 'Jejus anfwered
him^ I fpake openly to the PForld j I ever
taught hi the Synagogue^ and in the Temple^
ivhhher the Jews always rejbrt ; and m jecret
have I Ja'id nothing, A Proof that he had
not in private to his Difciples declared
himfelf in exprefs Words to be the MeJ/Iah,
the Prince. But he goes on. ^Fhy askeji
thou me f Ask Jtidas^ who has been always
with me. ^sk them who heard me what I
have fa'id unto them \ behold^ they know
what I fa'id. Our Saviour, we fee here,
warily declines, for the Reafons above-
mentioned, all Difcourfe of his Dod:rine.
The Sanhedrim^ Matt. xxvi. j^*. fought
falfe Witnefs agahif hhn ; but v/hen they
found none that were fufficient, or came
up to the Point they defired, whic-h was
to have fomcthing againft him to take
away his Life ; (for fo I think- the Words
l-jotji and m mean, Mark xiv. 56^, j^;). )
they try again what they can get out of
him himfelf, concerning his being the

Mfjiah:,

124 ^^^^ Keajonahknejs o/" Chriftianity,

Meffiah ; which if he owned in exprefs
Words, they thought they fhould have
enough againft him at the Tribunal of the
Roman Governor, to make him Lcef^e ma-
jeftatis reur/iy and fo to take away his Life.
They therefore fay to him, Luke xxii. ^7,
If thou he the Mefiiah, tells us: Nay, as St.
Matthew hath it, the High-Prieft adjures
him by the living God to tell them whe-
ther he were the Mejfiah. To which our
Saviour replies, ]f I tell youy ye will not
helieve ; ar2d if I ask you, ye will not an-
fwer me, nor let me go. If I tell you, and
prove to you, by the Teftimony given of
me from Heaven, and by the Works that
I have done among you, you will not be-
lieve in me, that I am the Mejfiah : Or if
I fhould ask you where the Meffiah is to be
born, and what State he ihould come in,
how he fhould appear, and other Things
that you think in me not reconcilable with
the Meffiah ; you will not anfwer me, and
let me go, as one that has no Pretence to be
the Meffiah, and you are not afraid fhould
be received for iiich. But yet I tell you,
Hereafter ffjall the Son of Man fit on the
Right-^hand of the Power of God, ver. 70.
7he)i fald they all, Jlrt thou then the Son of
God ? yind. he fald unto them, Te jay that
I am. By which Difcourfe with them, re-
lated at large here by St. Luke, it is plain,
that the Anfwer of our Saviour, fet dovyu

by

as delivered in the Scriptures. 1 2.5

by St. Matthew^ Chap. xxvi. 64. in thefe
Words, Thou hafl faid \ and by St. Mark^
Chap. xvi. 61. in thefe, / a?n ; is an An-
fvver only to this Qiieftion, ^rt thou then the
Son of God? and not to that other, ^rt
thou the Mefliah ? which preceded, and he
had anfwered to before j though Matthew
and Mark, contra<?ting the Story, fet them
down together, as if making but one Que-
ftion, omitting all the intervening Dil^
courfe ; whereas 'tis plain out of St. Luke
that they were two diftind Queftions, to
which Jefus gave two diftind Anfwers. In
the firft whereof, he, according to his ufual
Caution, declined faying in plain exprels
Words that he was the Mejjiah ; though in
the latter he owned himfelf to be the Son
of God : Which though they, being Jews,
underftood to fignify the Mejfiah, yet he
knew could be no legal or weighty Accu-
fation againft him before a Heathen ; and
fo it proved : For upon his anfwering to
their Queftion, ^rt thou then the Son of
God ? Te fay that I am ; they cry out,
Luke xxii. 7i. What need we any farther
Witneffes ? For we ourfehes have heard out
of his own Mouth : And fo thinking they
had enough againft him, they hurry him
away to Pilate. Pilate asking them, John
xviii. 25)— 32. What Jccufation bring you
againfi this Man ? They anjwered, and j aid. If
he were not a Mt'ilfh^or, we would not have

delivered

ii6 T'he Rcafonabknefs of C\ix\^\2im.iYy

delivered Mm up unto thee. Then faid Pi-
late unto them, T'ake ye him^ and judge him
according to your Law. But this would
not ferve their Turn, who aimed at his
Life, and would be fatisfied with nothing
elfe. The Jews therefore faid imto him^ It
is not lawjul for us to put any Alan to Deaths
And this was alfo, That the Saying of Jefus
might he fulfilled which he fpake^ fignfying
what Death he fhould die. Purfuing there-
fore their Defign, of making him appear
to Pouiius Pilate guilty of Treafbn againft
Ccefar^ Luke xxiii. i. They began to accufe
him^ faying^ Pfe found this Fellow pervert -
mg the Nation^ and forbidding to give Tri-
bute to Casfar ; foyif^g-, That he himfelf is
the MeiHah the King : All which were In-
ferences of theirs from his faying, he was
the Son of God ; which "fontius Pilate find-
ing, (for 'tis confonant that he examined
them to the precife Words he had faid)
their Accufation had no Weight with him.
However, the Name of King being fug-
gefted againft Jefus, he thought himfelf
concerned to fearch it to the Bottom. J-ohn
xviii. 33 — 2>7' Then VW^tc entered again into
the yudgment-Hall, and called "Jefus, and
faid unto him. Art thou the King of the
Jews ? yefus anjwered him, Sayef thou this
of thyfelf or did others tell it thee of me ?
Pilate aufwered. Am I a Jew ? Thine own
Nation and the Chief Priejis have delivered

the$

as delivered in the Scriptures. 127

thee unto me : What hafi thou done ? Jefus
anjwered^ My Kingdom is not of this JVorld:
If my Kingdom were of this World^ then
would my Servants fight ^ that I fhould not
he delivered to the Jews ? But my Kingdom
Is not from hence. Pilate therefore [aid un-
to himy Art thou a King then P Jefus an-
fweredy I'hou fiyeft that I am a King, For
this End was I born^ and for this Caufe
came I into the World^ that I fhould hear
witntfs to the T^ruth : Every one that is of
the Truth heareth my Voice, In this Dia-
logue between our Saviour and Pilate we
may obferve, i. That being asked, whe-
ther he were the King of the Jews ? he
anfwers fo, that though he deny it not, yet
he avoided giving the leaft Umbrage, that
he had any Delign upon the Government :
For though he allows himfelf to be a King,
yet, to obviate any Sufpicion, he tells
Pilate y his Kingdom is not of this World -^
and evidences it by this, that if he had
pretended to any Title to that Country, his
Followers, which were not a few, and were
forward enough to believe him their King,
would have fought for him, if he had had
a Mind to fet himfelf up by Force, or his
Kingdom were fo to be eredcd. But my
Kingdom^ fiys he, is not from hence ; is not
of this Fafhion, or of this Place.

2. Pilate, being by his Words and Cir-
cumftances fatislied that he laid no Claim

to

laS T'he Reafonahkmfs of Chrlfiianity,

to his Province, or meant any Difturbancc
of the Government, was yet a little fur-
prized to hear a Man, in that poor Garby
without Retinue, or fo much as a Servant
or a Friend, own himfelf to be a King ;
and therefore asks him, with fome kind of
Wonder, Art thou a Kwg then ?

3. That our Saviour declares, that his
great Bufinefs into the World was, to teftify
and make good this great Truth, that he
was a King, /. e. in other Words, that he
was the Mejfftah.

4. That whoever were Followers of the
Truth, and got into the Way of Truth and
Happinefs, received this Dodrine concern-
ing him, viz. that he was MeJJiah their
King.

Pilate being thus fatisfied that he neither
meant, nor could there arile any Harm;
from his Pretence, whatever it was, to be
a King, tells the Jews, ver. ^%. I find no
Fault in this Man : But the Jews were the
more fierce, Luke xxiii. 5. faying. He
fiirreth up the People to Sedition, by his
preaching through all Jewry, beginning jrom
Galilee to this Place. And then Pilate^
learning that he was of Galilee, Herod's
Jurifdidion, fent him to Herod ; to whom
alio the Chief Priefls and Scribes, ver. i o.
vehemently accujed him. Herod finding all
their Accufations either falfe or frivolous,
thought our Saviour a bare Objed of Con-
tempt ^-

4s delivared in the Scriptures. i ip

tempt ; and fb turning him only into Ri-
dicule, fcnt him back to Pilate \ who calling
unto him the Chief Priefts, and the Rulers
and the People, ver, 14. Ja'td unto them^

Te have brought this Man unto me as ons
that perverteth the People ; and behold^ I
have examined him before yoix^ have found
no Fault in this Man^ touching thefe T'hings
whereof ye acciife him \ 720^ nor yet Herod ;
jor I Jent you to him ; andfo nothing wor-
thy of Death is done by him : And therefore
he would have releafed him ; for he knew
the Chief friejis had delivered him through
Envy^ Mark xv. 10. And when they de-
manded Barabbas to be releafed, but as for
Jefus, cried, Crucify him, Luke xxiii. 22.
Pilate faid unto them the third T'ime^ fVhy ? '
fVJjat Evil hath he done ? I have found 710
Caufe of Death in him ; / will therefore
chafiife him^ and let him go.

We may obferve in all this whole Pro-
fecucion oi\hc Jews^ that they would fain,
have got it out of Jefus's own Mouth, in
exprefs Words, that he was the Mejfah ;
which not being able to do with all their
Art and Endeavour, all the reft that they
could allcdgc againft him, not amounting
to a Proof before Pilate^ that he claimed
to be King of the Jews^ or that he had
caufed or done any thing towards a Mu-
tiny or Infurredion among the People, (for
upon thele two, as we fee, their whole

I Charge

1 30 T'he Reafonahlenefs of Chriftianity,

Charge turned) 'dilate again and again pro-
nounced him innocent ; for fo he did a
fourth and a fifth Time, bringing him out
to them aft:cr he had whipp'd him, yohn
xix. 4, 6. And after all. When PilateySzy
that he could prevail nothings hut that ra-
ther a Tumult was made^ he took Water ^ and
wajhed his Hands before the Multitude^ fay-
ingy I am innocent of the Blood of this jufi
Man^ fee you to it, Matt, xxvii. 24. Which
gives us a clear Reafon of the cautious and
wary Condud of our Saviour, in not de-
claring himfelf, in the whole Gourfe of his
Miniftry, fb much as to his Difciples, much
lefs to the Multitude or the Rulers of the
yews, in exprels Words, to be the Me(fiah
the King ; and why he kept himfelf al-
ways in prophetical or parabolical Terms,
(he and his Difciples preaching only the
Kingdom of God, /. e. of the Mejfiah, to
be come) and left to his Miracles to declare
who he was ; thougli this was the Truth
which he came into the World, as he fays
himfelf, John xviii. '^^j, to teftify, and
which his Difciples were to believe.

When ^Pilate, fatisfied of his Innocence,
would have releafed him, and the Jews
perfifted to cry out. Crucify him, crucify
him, John xix^ 6. Pilate fays to them, T'ake
'ye him yourftlves, and crucify him ; for I do
mt fnd any Fault in him. The Jews then,
iince they could not make him a State-
Criminal,

as delivered in the Scriptures* 131

Crimiual, by alledging his faying that he
•was the Sou of God-^ lay, by their Law, it
was a Capital Crime, ver, 7. ^/he Jews an^
J wend to Pi lace, We have a Lawy and by
our Law he ought to d'te^ hccauje he made
hlmfelf the Son of God^ i. e. becaufe, by
Ikying he is the Son of God^ he has made
himfelf the Alejfiah^ the Prophet which was
to come : For we find no other Law but
that againft falfe Prophets, Dent, xviii. 20.
whereby fiuiking himjejf the Son of God
delcrved Death.

After this Pilate was the more defirous
to releale him, ver, 12, 13. But the Jews
cried oiit^ faying^ If thou let this Man gOy
thou art not Caelar' j Friend ; whojbever mak-
eth himfelf a King, fpeaketh againft Cselar.
Here we fee the Strefs of their Charge
againft ]efus, whereby they hoped to take
away his Life, viz. that he made himJeJf
King : We lee alfo upon what they
grounded this Accufation, viz. becaufe he
had owned himfelf to be the Son of God :
for he had, in their Hearing, never made
or profeflcd himfelf to be a King. We
fee here likewife the Rcafon why they
were fo defirous to draw, from his owu
Mouth, a Confellion, in exprefs Word?,
that he was the Meffiah, viz. that they
might have what might be a clear Proof
that he did io. And laft cf all, we fee
the Reafon why, though in Exprefllons
I i which

132 ^he Reafonabknefs of Chriftianity,

which they underftood, he owned himfelf
to them to be the MeJJiah^ yet he avoided
declaring it to them in fuch Words as might
look criminal at ^'ilate's Tribunal. He
owned himfelf to be the Mejjiah plainly to
the Underftanding of the Jews^ but in
ways that could not, to the Underftanding
of Pilate^ make it appear that he had laid
Claim to the Kingdom of Judea^ or went
about to make himfelf King of that Coun-
try. But whether his faying that he was
the Son ofGody v/as criminal by their Law,
that Pilate troubled not himfelf about.

He that confiders what T^achus^ Stieto-
mns^ Seneca^ de Eerie f. /. 3. c. 16. fay of
Tiherins and his Rei2:n, will find how ne-
celfary it was for our Saviour, if he would
not die as a Criminal and a Traytor, to
take great Heed to his Words and Adions,
that he did or faid not any thing that mighf
be offenfive, or give the leaft Umbrage to
the Roman Government. It behoved an
innocent Man, who v;as taken notice of
for fomething extraordinary in him, to be
very wary, under a jealous and cruel Prince,
who encouraged Informations, and filled
his Reign with Executions for Treafon ;
under whom Words fpoken innocently, or
in jeft, if they could be mifconftrued,
were made Treafon, and profecuted with a
Rigour, that made it always the fame thing
to be acculed and condemned. And there-
fore

as delivered in the Scriptures. 133

fore we fee, that when the "Jews told /*/-
late^ John xix. 12, that he Ihould not be
a Friend to Ccefar if he let Jefus go, (for
that whoever made himielf King, was a
Rebel againft C^far) he asks them no more
whether they would take Burabbas^ and
fpare Jefus, but (though againft his Con-
fcience) gives him up to Death, to fecure
his own Head.

One Thing more there is, that gives us
Light into this wife and neceffarily cauti-
ous Management ot himfelf, which mani-
feftly agrees with it, and makes a Part of
it j and that is, the Choice of his Apoftlcs,
exactly fuited to the Deiign and Fore-fight
of the NeceJlity of keeping the Declara-
tion of the Kingdom of the Meffiah^ which
was now expeded, within certain general
Terms during his Miniftry : It was not fit
to open himielf too plainly or forwardly
to the heady JewSy that he himfelf was
the Mejjiah ; that was to be left to be found
out by the Obfervation of thofe who would
attend to the Purity of his Life, the Tcfti-
mony of his Miracles, and the Conformity
of all with the Predictions concernins; him ;
by thefe Marks, thofe he lived amongit
were to find it out, without an exprefs Pro-
mulgation that he was the MeJJiah^ till after
his Death : His Kingdom v/as to be opened
to them by Degrees, as well to prepare
them to receive it, as to enable him to be

I 3 long

134 ^^^ Reafoncihlevefs of Chriftiariky,

long enough amongfl: them, to perform
what was the Work of the Mejftah to be
done, and fulfil all thofe fevcral Parts of
what was foretold of him in the Old ^efla^
inent^ and we fee applied to him in the

The Jews had no other Thoughts of
their Mejjiah^ but of a mighty temporal
Prince, that fhould raife their Nation into
an higher Degree of Power, Dominion,
and Profperity than ever it had enjoyed.
They were filled with the Expedation of a
glorious earthly Kingdom. It was not
therefore for a poor Man, the Son of a
Carpenter, and (as they thought) born in
Galilee^ to pretend to it. None of the
y-ews, no not his Difciples, could have
borne this, if he had exprefly avowed this
at firft, and began his Preaching, and the
Opening of his Kingdom this Way; elpe-
cially if he had added to it, that in a Year
or two he Ihould die an ignominious Death
upon the Crofs. They are therefore pre-
pared for the Truth by Degrees. Firft-,
yohn the Baptiji tells them, T'he Kingdom
of God (a Name by which the Jews called
the Kingdom of the Mefftalo) is at hand.
Then our Saviour comes, and he tells
them of the Kingdom of God. fometimes
that it is at hand, and upon fome Occa-
jfions, that it is come ; but fays in his pub-
lick Preaching little or nothing of himfelf.

Then

ds delivered in the Scriptures. 1 3 j

Then come the Apoftles and Evangelifts
after his Death, and they in expreis Words
teach what his Birth, Life, and Doctrine
had done before, and had prepared the
Well-difpofed to receive, viz, that Jefus is
the Mefliah.

To this Defign and Method of publifh-
ing the Gofpel, was the Choice of the
Apoftles exadly adjufted \ a Company of
poor, ignorant, illiterate Men, who, as
Chrift himfelf tells us. Matt, xi. 25. and
Luke X. 21. were not of the uo'tfe and pru^
dent Men of the World ; they were, in that
Refpect, but meer Children. Thele, con-
vinced by the Miracles they faw him daily
do, and the unblameable Life he led,
might be difpofed to believe him to be the
Mejjiah \ and though they with others ex-
peded a temporal Kingdom on Earth,
might yet reft fatisfied in the Truth of their
Mafter (who had honoured them with be-
ing near his Peribn) that it would come,
without being too inquifitive after the
Time, Manner, or Seat of his Kingdom ;
as Men of Letters, more ftudied in their
Rabbins, or Men of Bufinefs, more verfed
in the World, would have been forward to
have been. Men great or wife in Know-
ledge or Ways of the World, would hardly
have been kept from prying more narrowly
into his Defign and Condud, or from quefti-
oning him about the Ways and Meafures

I 4 he

1^6 T'he Reajormble fiefs of Chnikhmty,

he would take for afcending the Throne ;
and what Means were to be ufed towards
it, and when they fhould in earneft fet
about it. Abler Men, of higher Births or
Thoughts, would hardly have been hin-
dered from whifpcring, at Icaft to their
Friends and Relations, that their Mafter
was the Mejjiah ; and that though he con-
cealed himfelf to a fit Opportunity, and
till Things were ripe for it, yet they fhould
ere long fee him break out of his Obfcu-
lity, caft off the Cloud, and declare him-
lelf, as he was, King of Ifrael. But the
Ignorance and Lownefs of thefe good poor
Alcn, made them of another Temper. They
went along in an implicite Truft on him,
punctually keeping to his Commands, and
not exceeding his Commiflion. When he
fent them to preach the Gofpel, he bicj
them preach the Khigdcm of God to be at
hand j and that they did, without being
more particular than he had ordered, or
mixing their own Prudence with his Com-
mands, to promote the Kingdom of the
Mejfiah. They preached it without giv-
ing, or fo much as intimating that their
Mafter was he ; which Men of another
Condition, and an higher Education, would
fcarce have forborn to have done. When
lie asked them who they thought him to
be, and Peter anfwered, ^he MelTiah, the
Son of Godj Matt. xvi. i6. he plainly

lhews_,

AS delivered in the Scriptures. 137

Ihews, by the following Words, that he
himfelf had not told them fo ; and at the
fame time, ver. 10, forbids them to tell
this their Opinion of him to any body.
How obedient they were to him in this,
we may not only conclude from the Silence
of the Evangelifts concerning any fuch
thing publilhed by them any where be-
fore his Death, but from the exaft Obedi-
ence three of them paid to a like Com-
mand of his. He takes Ptter^ James^
and John into a Mountain, and there Mojes
and EUas coming to him, he is transfigured
before them : Matt. xvii. 5?. he charges
them, faying, See that ye tell no Man what
ye have feen^ till the Son of Man jhall he
rifen from the Dead. And St. Luke tells
us, what pundual Obfcrvcrs they were of
his Orders in this Cafe, Chap. ix. ^6. They
kept it cloje^ and told no Man^ in thofe Days^
any of thofe Things which they had feen.

Whether twelve other Men, of quicker
Parts, and of a Station or Breeding which
might have given them any Opinion of
themfelves, or their own Abilities, would
have been fo eafily kept from meddling
beyond juft what was prcfcribed them, in
a Matter they had fo much Intereft in ;
and have faid nothing of what they might
in human Prudence have thought would
have contributed to their Matter's Reputa-
tion, and made way for his Advancement

to

138 The Reafonahhnefs of Chriftianity,

to his Kingdom, 1 leave to be confidered.
And it may fuggeft Matter of Meditation,
whether St. Paul was not, for this Reafon,
by his Learning, Parts, and warmer Tem-
per, better fitted for an Apoftle after, than
during our Saviour's Miniftry \ and there-
fore, though a chofen Veflel, was not by
the divine Wildom called till after Chrift's
Refurredion.

I offer this only as a Subjed of magnify-
ing the admirable Contrivance of the di-
vine Wifdom, in the whole Work of our
Redemption, as far as we are able to trace
it by the Footfteps which God hath made
vilible to human Reafon. For though it
be as eafy to omnipotent Power to do all
Things by an immediate over-ruling Will,
and io to make any Inftruments work, even
contrary to their Natures, in Subferviency
to his Ends ; y et his Wifdom is not ufually
at the Expence of Miracles, (if I may lb
fay) but only in Cafes that require them,
for the evidencing of Ibme Revelation or
Miffion to be from him. He does con-
ftantly (unlefs where the Confirmation of
fome Truth requires it otherwife) bring
about his Purpofes by Means operating
according to their Natures. If it were
not ^o^ the Courfe and Evidence of Things
would be confounded ; Miracles would
lofe their Name and Force, and there could

be

^^' as delwered in the Sctiiptuves, t^p

be no Diftindion between Natural and
Supernatural.

There had been no Room left to fee and
admire the Wifdom, as well as Innocence,
of our Saviour, if he had rafhly every-
where expofed himfelf to the Fury of the
yews, and had always been preferved by
a miraculous Sufpenfion of their Malice,
or a miraculous rcfcuing him out of their
Hands. It was enough for him once to
efcape from the Men of Nazareth^ who
were going to throw him down a Precipice,
for him never to preach to them again.
Our Saviour had Multitudes that followed
him for the Loaves, who barely feeing the
Miracles that he did, would have made
him King. If to the Miracles he did, he
had openly added, in exprefs Words, that
he was the Meffiah, and the King they ex-
peded to deliver them, he would have
had more Followers, and warmer in the
Cauic, and readier to fet him up at the
Head of a Tumult. Thefe indeed God,
by a miraculous Influence, might have hin-
dered from any fuch Attempt ; but then
Pofterity could not have believed that the
Nation of the Jews did at that Time ex-
pect the MeJJtah^ their King and Deliverer;
or that Jefus, who declared himfelf to be
that King and Deliverer, ftiewcd any Mi-
racles amongft them, to convince them of
it ; or did any thing worthy to make him

be

140 T'h Reajonahlenejs ^ Chriftlanity,

be credited or received. If he had gone
about Preaching to the Multitude which
he drew after him, that he was the Meffiah^
the King of Ifrael, and this had been evi-
denced to Pilate^ God could indeed, by a
fupernatural Influence upon his Mind, have
made 'dilate pronounce him innocent, and
not condemn him as a Malefaclor, who had
openly, for three Years together, preached
Sedition to the People, and endeavoured
to perfuade them that he was the Mejfiah
their King^ of the Blood- Royal of David y
come to deliver them. But then I ask,
whether Pofterity would not either have
fufpeded the Story, or that fome Art had
been ufcd to gain that Teftimony from
Pilate? Becaufe he could not (for nothing)
have been fo favourable to Jefus, as to be
willing to releafe fo turbulent and feditious
a Man, to declare him innocent, and to
caft the Blame and Guilt of his Death, as
unjuft, upon the Envy of the Jews.

But now the Malice of the Chief Priefts,
Scribes, and Pharifees \ the Headinefs of
the Mob, animated with Hopes, and raifed
with Miracles ; Judas's Treachery, and
Pilate's Care of his Government, and of
the Peace of his Province, all working
naturally as they fhould ; Jefus, by the
admirable Warinefs of his Carriage, and
an extraordinary Wifdom vifible in his
whole Condu£l, weathers all thefe Diffi-
culties,

as delivered in the Scripture^. ' f4i

culties, does the Work he comes for, un-
interruptedly goes about Preaching his full
appointed Time, fufficlcntly manifefts him-
lelf to be the Mcjfiah in all the Particulars
the Scriptures had foretold of him ; and
when his Hour is come, fuffers Death ;
but is acknowledged both by J-zidas that
betrayed, and Pilate that condemned him,
to die innocent. For, to ule his own
Words, Luke xxiv. 4^. T'hus it is written^
and thus it behoved the Meffiah to fuffer.
And of his whole Condud, we have a
Realbn and clear Refolution in thofe Words
to '^t. Peter ^ Matt. x^\\, ^^. Thinkejl thoii,
that I cannot now pray to my Father^ and
he jhall frefently give me more than twelve
Legions of Jngels ? But how then Jhall
the Scripture be fulfilled^ that thus it muji
he?

Having this Clue to guide us, let us now
obferve how our Saviour's Preaching and
Conducl comported with it in the laft Scene
of his Life. How^ cautious he had been
in the former Part of his Miniftry, we
have already obferved. We never find
him to ufe the Name of the Meffiah but
once, till he now came to Jerujalem this
laft Paflbver. Before this, his Preaching
and Miracles were lefs at J-eruJalem (where
he ufcd to make but very Ihort Stays) than
any where elfe • but now he comes fix
Pays before the Feaft, and is every Day

in

14^ T'heReafdnahlene/sofClm^i^Lm.ty^

in the Temple teaching ; and there pub-
lickly heals the Blind and the Lame, in
the Prefencc of the Scribes, Pharilecs, and
Chief Pricfts. The Time of his Miniftry
drawing to an End, and his Hour coming,
he cared not how much the Chief Prielb,
Elders, Rulers, and the Sanhedrim were
provoked againfl: him by his Dodrine and
Miracles ; he was as open and bold in his
Preaching, and doing the Works of the
Mejjiah now at Jerujalem^ and in the Sight
of the Rulers, and of all the People, as
he had been before cautious and reierved
there, and careful to be little taken Notice
of in that Place, and not to come in their
Way more than needs. All that he now
took care of, was, not what they ftiould
think of him, or defign againft him, (for
he knew they would feize him) but to fay
or do nothing that might be a juft Mat-
ter of Accui'ation againft him, or render
him criminal to the Governor. But as
for the Grandees of the J-ewiJJy Nation,
he Ipares them not, but fharply now re-
prehends their Mifcarriages publickly in
the Temple, where he calls them, more
than once, Hypocrites, as is to be {^ecn
Matt, xxiii. and concludes all with no fofter
a Compellation, than Serpents and Genera-
tion of Vipers.

After

as delivered in the Scriptures. 143

After this fevcre Reproof of the Scribes
and Pharijees^ being retired with his Dif-
ciples into the Mount of Olives^ over-
againft the Temple ; and there fore-telling
the Deftrudion of it, his Difciples ask
him, Matt. xxiv. 3, &c. When it fiould he^
and what jloould be the Signs of his Coming?
He fays to them, T^ake heed that no Man-
deceive you : For many (hall come in my
Name ; /. e. taking on them the Name and
Dignity of the Mejjiah^ which is only mine;
faying, I am the Mefliah, and fhaJl deceive
many. But be not you by them mifled,
nor by Perfeciition driven away from this
Fundamental Truth, That I am the Mef-
Jiah \ For many fJoaU be fcandalized^ and
Apoftatize, hut he that endures to the End,
the fame jh all be fived: And this Gofpel of
the Kingdom floall be peached in all the
World : i. e. The good News of me, the
Meffiah, and my Kingdom, fhall be fpread
through the World. 1 his was the great
and only Point of Belief they were warned
10 ftick to ; and this is inculcated again,
ver, 2^--i6. and Mark xiii. a 1—23. with
this emphatical Application to them in
both thefe Evangelifts, Behold , I have told
you before-hand \ remember ye are fore-
warned.

This was in his Anfwer to the Apoftles
Enquiry concerning his Coming, and the
End of the World J ver. 3. For fo we tran-

llate

144 f^^ Reafonahhnefs of Chrlllianity,

ilatc ttJ^ auMT'tX^^ rS oiJi-^v!^ ; We muft
undcrftand the Dilciples here to put their
Queftion, according to the Notion and Way
of ipeaking of the ^ews. For they had
two Worlds, as we tranflate it, 5 vuZ otj-^v itj
6 ui'\'\(jcv aui-2v ; The prefent PVorldy and the
fVorld to come. The Kingdom of God, as
they called it, or the Time of the MeJJiahy
they called 5 /xsAAav cu'^v, the World to
co77iey which they believed was to put an
End to tJj'u fforld : And that then the Juft
Ihould be raifed from the Dead ; to enjoy,
in that fjew IForld, a happy Eternity, with
thofe of the Jewifli Nation who fhould be
then living.

Thefe two Things, viz. The vifible and
powerful Appearance of his Kingdom, and
the End of the World, being confounded
in the Apoftles Queftion, our Saviour does
not feparate them, nor diftindly reply to
them apart ; but leaving the Enquirers in
the common Opinion, anfwers at once con-
cerning his Coming to take Vengeance of
the J-ewifi Nation, and put an End to their
Church, Worfnip, and Commonwealth ;
which was their o vm audy, prcfenc World,
which they counted fhould laft till the Me/^
Jiah came : And fo it did, and then had an
End put to it. • And to this he joins his
laft Coming to Judgment, in the Glory of
his Father, to put a final End to this
World, and all the Difpenfation belonging

to

(jj delivered in the ocrfpturcs, 145

to the Pofterity of Mam upon Earth.
This joining them together, made his An-
fwer obfcure, and hard to be imderftood
by them then ; nor was it fafe for him to
fpeak plainer of his Kingdom, and the
Dcftruction of Jerufalem^ unlels he had
a Mind to be accufed for having Dcfigns
againft the Government. For yudas was
amongft them : And whether no other buC
his Apoftles were comprehended under the
Name of his Dlfctples^ who were with
him at this Time, one cannot determine.
Our Saviour therefore fpeaks of his King-
dom in no other Stile but that which he
had all along hitherto ufed, viz, ^he'King-^
dom of God '^ Luke xxi. 31. When you fee
thefe things come to pafs^ hiow ye that the
Kingdom of God is nigh at Hand. And
continuing on his Difcourfe with them, he
has the fame Expreffion, Matt. xxv. i,
T'ben the Kingdom of Heaven fall be like
unto ^eu Virgins. At the End of the fol-
lowing Parable of the Talents, he adds,
ver. 31. When the Son of Man fall come in
his Glory ^ and all the Holy Angels zvith him^
then fhall he Jit upon the fhrone of his
Glory ^ and before him fall be gathered all
the Nations. And he fall fet the Sheep on
his Right Handy and the Goats on his Left,
then fall the KING fay, SCc. Here he
defcribes to his Difciples the Appearance
of his Kingdom, wherein he will fhew
K him-

14^ The Reafomlknefs of Chriftianity,

himfelf a King in Glory upon his Throne :
33ut this in llich a way, and fo remote,
and ib unintelligible to a Heathen Magi-
llrate, that if it had been alledged againft
him, it would have feemed rather the
Dream of a crazy Brain, than the Con-
trivance of an ambitious or dangerous
Man defigning againft the Government:
The Way of expreiling what he meant,
being in the Prophetick Stile ; which is
feldom fo plain, as to be underftood, till
accomplifhed. 'Tis plain, that his Dif-
ciplcs themfelves comprehended not what
Kingdom he here fpoke of, from their
Queftion to him after his Refurre<51:ion, Wtlt
thou at this Tme rejiore aga'm the Kingdom
to Ifrael ?

Having finifhed thefe Difcourfes, he
<akes Order for the Paflbver, and eats it
with his Difciples; and at Supper tells
them, that one of them fhould betray him :
And adds, John xiii. i ^. I tell it you noWy
before it cofue^ that when it is co77ie to pafsy
you may know that I am. He does not fay
out the Meffiah ; Judas fhould not have
that to fay againft him if he would ;
though that be the Senfe in which he ufcs
this Expreffion, iyJ) ^fjA^ more than once.
And that this i^the Meaning of it, is clear
from Mark xii. 6. Luke xxi. 8. In both
which Evangelifts the Words are, For
many flj all come in my ^ams faying, iyoJ c^juiy

lam .*

as delivered w the Scriptures. 147

lam : The Meaning whereof we fliall find
explained in the parallel Place of St. Mat^
thew^ chap. xxiv. 5. For many jhall come

In my Name^ fiv^^S-> ^y^ ^'-^^ 0 X^^^Vj / am
the Mefftah. Herein this Place of y^?^;; xiii.
Jefus fore-tells what fhould happen to him,
viz. That he Ihould be betrayed hj Judas '.y
adding this Predidion to the many other
Particulars of his Death and Suffering,
which he had at other Times foretold to
them. And here he tells them the Reafon
of thefe his Predictions, viz. That after-
wards they might be a Confirmation to their
Faith. And what was it that he would
have them believe, and be confirmed in the
Belief of ? Nothing but this, or< iyJo «a;,
that he was the Mefjiah. The fame Rea-
fon he gives, JuhriYAii. 1%. Ton have hear dy
how I Jald unto you^ I go away, and come
again unto you : And now I have told you
before it come to pafsy that when it is come
to pafsy ye might believe.

When yudas had left them, and was
gone out, he talks a little freer to them of
his Glory, and of his Kingdom, than ever
he had done before. For now he fpeaks
plainly of himfelf, and of his Kingdom,
John xiii. 31. Therefore when he [Judas] was
gone out, Jefus faidy Now is the Son of Man
glorified, and God is alfo glorified in him.
And if God be glorified in him, God fhall
alfo glorify him in himfelf, and fhall fir ait"
K a way

1 4S The Reafonahlenefs of Chriftianity,

way glorify him. And Ltike xxii. 2(?. ^nd
I Will affeint unto you a Kingdom^ aj my
Father hath appointed unto me ; that ye may
eat and drink with me at my T'able in my
Kingdom. Though he has every where
ail along through his Miniftry preached the
Gojpel of the Kingdom., and nothing elle
but that and Repentance, and the Duties
of a good Life ; yet it has been always
the Kingdom of God., and the Kingdom of
Heaven : And I do not remember, that any
where, till now, he ufes any fuch Ex-
prellion, as My Kingdom. But here now
he fpeaks in the firft Perfon, I will appoint
you a Kingdom ; And in my Kingdom : And
this we lee is only to the Eleven, now
Judas was gone from them.

With thefe Eleven, whom he was now
juft leaving, he has a long Diicourfe to
comfort them for their Lofs of him, and
to prepare them for the Perfecution of the
World, and to exhort them to keep his
Commandments, and to love one another.
And here one may expect all the Articles
of Faith Ihould be laid down plainly, if
any thing elfe were required of them to
believe, but what he had taught them,
and they believed already ^ viz. 'that he
was the Mejfiah^ John xiv. i . Te believe in.
God^ believe alfo in me^ ver. 1^. I have
told yuu before it come to pafs, that when it
is come to pajs^ ye may believe. It is be-
lieving

as delivered in /^e' Scriptures. 14^

lieving on him, without any thing elfc,
John xvi. 3 1 . Jefiis anfwered them^ Do
you upzv believe r* This was in Anfwer to
their profefling, ver. 30. Now are we fiire
that thou hioweji all T'hings, and needejl
not that any Manjhotdd ask thee : By this
we believe that thou comejl forth from
God.

John xvii. 20. Neither pray I for theje
alone y but for them alfo which fjjall believe
on me through their f'V'ord. All that is Ipoke
of Believing^ in this his laft Sermon to
them, is only Believing on him^ or be-
lieving that He came from God -^ which
was no other than believing him to be the
Mejftah.

Indeed, John xiv. p. our Saviour tells
Philips He that hath jeen me^ hath feen the
Father ; and adds, ver. i o. Believe fi thou
not that I am in the Father, and the
Father in me? 'the Words that I fpeak
unto you, I fpeak not of my f elf: But the
Father that dwelleth in me, he doth the
IForks. Which being in Anfwer to Philip'^
Words, ver. ^. Shew us the Father, feem
to import thus much : No Man hath feen
God at any tinie^ he is known only by his
Works. And that he is my Father, and I
the Son of God, /. e. the MefJIah, you may
know by the Works I have done ; Which
it is impoflible 1 could do of myfelf, but
by the Union I have with God my Father.
K 3 For

150 T'hc Reafonahknefs of Chriftianity,

For that by being /';/ God, and God in him,
he figniiics fuch an Union with God, that
God operates in and by him, appears not
only by the Words above-cited out of
ver. lo. (which can fcarce otherwife be
made coherent Senfe) but alfo from the
fame Phrafe ufed again by our Saviour
prefently after, ver, 20. ^t that Day, viz.
after his Refurredion, when they Ihould
fee him again, ye Jhall know that I am in
my Father, and yon in me, and I in yon ;
/. f. By the Works I fhall enable you to
do, through a Power I have received from
the Father : W^hich whoever fees me do,
muft acknowledge the Father to be in me;
And whoever fees you do, muft acknow-
ledge me to be in you. And therefore he
fays, ver. 1 2. Verily, verily I fay nntoyoii^
He that helieveth on me, the Works that I
do fhall he alfo do, hecaufe I go unto my
Father. Though I go away, yet I fhall
be in you, who believe in me • And ye
fhall be enabled to do Miracles alfo for
the carrying on of my Kingdom, as I have
done : That it may be manifefted to others,
that yoii are fent by me, as I have
evidenced to you that I am fent by the
Father. And hence it is that he fays, in
the immediate preceding ver, 11. Believe
me that I am in the Father, and thQ Father
in me ; If not, believe me for the Sake of
f /be Works themfehe^. Let the Works that

I have

as delivered In the Scriptures. 151

I have done, convince you that I am fent
by the Father ; That he is with me, and
that I do nothing but by his Will, and by
virtue of the Union I have with him; And
that, confequently, I am the Mejjiah^ who
am anointed, fandified, and fcparated by
the Father to the Work for which he hath
fent me.

To confirm them in this Faith, and to en-
able them to do fuch W^orks as he had done,
he promifesthem the Holy Ghoft, J-ohn xiv.
25, 16. Theje things I have fi'id unto yoUy
being yet prefect with you : But when 1 am
gone, the Holy Ghofty the ^araclet (which
may fignify Monitor as well as Comforter,
or Advocate) which the Father flmll fend
you in my AW26", he Jhall JJjew you all Things^
and bring, to your Remembrance all T^hings
which I have faid. So that confidering all
that I have faid, and laying it together,
and comparing it with what you fhall fee
come to pais, you maybe more abundantly
aflured that I am the MeJJiah^ and fully
comprehend that I have done and fuf-
fered all Things foretold of the Me(puih\
and that were to be accompliilied and ful-
filled by him, according to the Scriptures.
But be not filled with Grief that I leave
you ; John xvi. 7. It is expedient for yon
that I go away : For if I go not away^ the
^arackt will not coim unto you. One Rea-
fon why, if he vrent not away^ the Holy
K 4 ' Ghoft

1^2 ^he Reafbnahlenefs of Chriftianity,

Ghoft could not come, we may gather
from what has been obferved concerning
the prudent and wary Carriage of our Sa-
viour all through his Miniftry, that he
might not incur Death with the leaft
Suspicion of a Malefador: And therefore
though his Difciples believed him to be
the MeJJiah^ yet they neither underftood it
fo well, nor were fo well confirmed in the
Belief of it, as after that he being crucified
and rifen again, they had received the
Holy Ghoft ; and with the Gifts of the
Holy Spirit, a fuller and clearer Evidence
and Knowledge that he was the Mejjiah.
They then were enlightned to lee how his
Kingdom was fuch as the Scriptures fore-
told ; though not fuch as they, till then,
had expected. And now this Knowledge
and AlTurance received from the Holy
Ghoft, was of ufe to them after his Refur-
rection \ when they could now boldly go
about, and openly preach, as they did,
that Jefus was the Mefftah^ confirming that
Dodrine by the Miracles which the Holy
Ghoft impowered them to do. But till he
was dead and gone, they could not do this.
Their going about openly Preaching, as
they did after his Refurrection, that J ejus
was the Mejjiah^ and doing Miracles every
where to make it good, v/ould not have
cpnfifted with that Character of Humility,
Peace, and Innocence, wliich the MeJJiah

was

aj delivered In the Scriptures. 153

was to fiiftain, if they had done it before his
Crucifixion : For this would have drawn
upon him the Condemnation of a Male-
factor, either as a Stirrer of Sedition againft
the Publick Peace, or as a Pretender to the
Kingdom of Ifrael. And hence we fee,
that they who before his Death preached
only the Gojpel of the Kingdom, that the
Kingdom of God was at hand ; as foon as
they had received the Holy Gholl after his
Refurredion, changed their Stile, and every
where, in exprefs Words, declare, that y^r^j-
is the Meffiah, that King which was to come.
This, the following Words here in St.
yohn xvi. 8—14. confirm ; Where he goes
on to tell them ; j4nd when he is come, he
will convince the World of Sin, becati/e they
believed not on me. Your Preaching then,
accompanied with Miracles, by the Ai-
fiftance of the Holy Ghoft, Ihall be a Con-
vidion to the World that the Jezvs finned
in not believing me to be the Meffiah. Of
Right eoiifnefs, or Juftice : Becaufe I go to
my Father, and ye fee me no more. By the
fame Preaching and Miracles you Ihall
confirm the Doctrine of my Afcenfion;
and thereby convince the World that I
was that Jiift On^, who am therefore al^
cended to the Father into Heaven, where
no unjufl Perfon fhall enter. Of 'Judgment :
Becaufe the ^Prince of this World is judged,
And by the fame Alfiflance of the Holy

Ghoft

154 ^^^ ReafonahJenefs ^Chriftlanity,

Ghoft ye Ihall convince the World that the
Devil is judged or condemned, by your
cafting of him out, and deftroying his
Kingdom, and his Worfhip where-ever
you preach. Our Saviour adds, / have
yet many T'hlngs to Jay unto you^ hut you
cannot hear them now. They were yet fo
full of a Temporal Kingdom, that they
could not bear the Difcovery of what
kind of Kingdom his was, nor what a
King he was to be ; and therefore he
leaves them to the Coming of the Holy
Ghoft, for a farther and fiiller Difcovery of
himfeh^, and the Kingdom of the Mejjiah^
for fear they Ihould be fcandalized in him,
and give up the Hopes they had now in
him, and forfake him. This he tells them,
ver. I. of this xvith Chapter : ^hefi Takings
I have fa'id unto you, that you may not he
fcandalized. The laft thing he had told
them before his faying this to them, we
find in the laft Vetfes of the precedent
Chapter : When the ^araclet is come, the
Spirit of T'ruth, he foall zvltnefs concerning
me. He ftiall ftiew vou v.'ho I am, and
witnefs it to the World ; And then T'e alfo
JJoaJl hear isjitnefs, hecaufe ye have heen with
me from the Beginning. He ftiall call to
your Mind what I have faid and done,
that ye may underftand it, and know, and
bear Witnefs concerning me. And again
here, John xvi. after he had told them,

they

gs delivered in the Scriptures. 155

they could not bear what he had more to
fay, he adds, ver. 1 3. Howbejt^ when the Spirit
of Truth is come^ he will guide you into all
uruth \ and he will Jhezv you 7'hings to come :
He jhall glorify me. By the Spirit, when
he comes, ye ftiall be fully inftru£led con-
cerning me \ and though you cannot yet
from what what I have fiid to you, clearly
comprehend my Kingdom and Glory, yet he
Ihall make it known you to wherein it ccn-
fifts : And though I am now in a mean State,
and ready to be given up to Contempt,
Torment and Death, ib that ye know not
what to think of it, yet the Spirit, when
he comes, fhall glorify me, and fully fa-
tisfy you of my Power and Kingdom ;
and that I fit on the Right Hand of God,
to order all Things for the Good and In-
creafe of it, till I come again at the Laft
Day in the Fulneis of Glory.

Accordingly, the Apoftles had a full
^nd clear Sight and Perfuafion of this, after
they had received the Holy Ghofl • and
they preach'd it every where boldly and
openly, without the leaft Remainder of
Doubt or Uncertainty. But that even fb
late as this, they underflood not his Death
and Refurredion, is evident from ver. 17,
18. I'hen faid fome of the Difcipks a mono-
themfehesj fVhat is this that he faith unto
us ; ^ little whik^ and yejJoall not fee me ;
And again^ a little wh'ile^ and ye fjjallfee
pie J and hecaufe I go to the Father F Tfoey

faid

15^ 7he Reafonahlenefs ^ Chriftianity,

faid therefore^ What is this that he faith ^ a
little while ? We know not what he faith.
Upon which, he goes on to difcourfe to
them of his Death and Refurreclion, and
of the Power they fhould have of doing
Miracles. But all this he declares to them
in a myfticai and involved way of Speak-
ing : As he tells them himfelf, ver. 25.
I'hef things have Ifpoken to youinProverbsy
i. e. in general, obfcure, enigmatical, or
figurative Terms. (All which, as well as
allufive Apologues, the Jews called Pro-
verbs or Parables.) Hitherto my declaring
of my felf to you hath been oblcurc, and
with Refer ve ; and I have not fpoken of
my lelf to you in plain and direct Words,
becaufe ye could not hear it. A Mefjiah^
and not a King, you could not underftand ;
and a King living in Poverty and Perfecu-
tion, and dying the Death of a Slave and
Malefactor upon a Crofs, you could not
put together. And had I told you in plain
Words, that I was the Mejftah^ and given
you a direct Commiilion to preach to
others, that I profelfedly owned my felf
to be the Meffiah^ you and they would have
made a Commotion, to have fet me upon
the Throne of my Father David, and to
fight for me, that your Mejfah, your King,
in whom are your Hopes of a Kingdom,
fhould not be delivered up into the Hands
of his Enemies, to be put to Death 3 and

of

as delivered in the Scriptures. 157

of this, Peter will inftantly give you a
Proof. But the Time cometh when I floall
no niore fpeak tinto you in Parables ; but I
Jhall flew unto you plainly of the Father,
My Death and Refurreclion, and the Coming
of the Holy GhojR:, will fpecdily enlighten
you, and then I fhall make you know the
Will and Defign of the Father ; what a
Kingdom I am to have, and by what Means,
and to what End, ver. iy. And this the
Father himfelf will fhew unto you ; For
he loveth you^ becaufe ye have loved rae^ and
have believed that I came out from the Fa^
ther. Becaufe ye have believed that I am
the Son of God ^ the Mejjtah\ that he hath
anointed and fent me \ though it hath
not been yet fully difcovered to you, what
kind of Kingdom it Ihall be, nor by what
Means brought about. And then our Sa-
viour, without being asked, explaining to
them what he had faid, and making them
underftand better, what before they ftuck
at, and complained fecretly among them-
fclves,that theyunderftood not j they there-
upon declare, ,ver. 30. t^ow are zve Jiire
that thou hwweji all things^ and needefl not
that any Man flould ask thee, 'T'ls plain
thou knoweft Mens Thoughts and Doubts
before they ask. £y this we believe that
thou coinefl forth from God. 'Jefns ajfwer^
ed^ Do ye now believe ? Notvvithftunding
that you now believe that I came from

God,

ijS I'he Rectfonahlenefs <9/'ChriftIanity,

God, and am the MeJJiahy fent by him ;
Behold^ the Hour comethy yea^ is now come^
that ye JJjcill he fcattered ; and as it is
Matt, xxvi. 3 1 . and fiall all he fcandalized
in me. What it is to be fcandalized in
him, we may fee by what followed here-
upon, if that which he lays to St. Peter ^
Mark xiv. did not fufRciently explain it.

This I have been the more particular
in, that it may be feen, that in his laft
Difcourfe to his Difciples (where he open-
ed himfelf more than he had hitherto done ;
and where, if any thing more was required
to make them Believers, than what they
already believed, we might have expeded
they Ihould have heard of it ;) there were
no new Articles propofed to them, but
what they believed before, viz. That he
was the Mejftah^ the Son of God, fent from
the Father : Though of his Manner of
Proceeding, and his fudden leaving the
World, and Ibme few Particulars, he made
them underftand fbmetrhing more than they
did before. But as to the main Defign of
the Gofpel, viz. That he had a Kingdom,
that he fhould be put to Heath, and rife
again, and afcend into Heaven to his Fa-
ther, and come again in Glory to judge the
World ; this he had told them : And fo
had acquainted them with the Great Coun-
cil of God, in fending him the MeJJiah^ and
omitted nothing that was necelTary to be

known

as delivered in the Scriptures. i jp

known or believed in it. And fo he tells
them himfelf, Johnxv. i^. Henceforth I
call ye not Servants ; fur the Servant know-
eth not what his Lord does : But I have
called ye Friends ; for ALL "THINGS
I have heard of my Father^ I have made
known unto you ^ though perhaps ye do
not fo fully comprehend them, as you will
ihortly, when I am rifen and afcended.

To conclude all, in his Prayer, which
flints up this Difcourfe, he tells the Father
what he had made known to his Apoftles ;-
the Refult whereof we have John xvii. 8,
I have give?i unto them the Words which
thou gave ft me^ and they have received them^
and fHF.r HAVE BELIEVED
THAT fHOU DIDST SEND ME.
Which is in EfFeci:, that he was the Mef-
jiah promifed and fent by God. And then
he prays for them, and adds, ver. 20, 21.
Neither pray I for thefe alone, but for thetn
alfo who believe on m£ through their Word,
What that Word was through which others
Ihould believe in him, we have feen in the
preaching of the Apoftles all through the
Hiftory of the A^s, viz. This one great
Point, that Jefus was the MeJJiah. The
Apoftles, he fays, ver. 25. know that thon
haft fent me ; /. e. are alfured that I am
the MeJJiah. And in ver. 21 £i 23. he
prays, That the World may believe (which
ver. 23. is called knowing) that thou hafi

fent

1 6o T'he Reafvnahlenefs ^Chriftianity-,

fent me : So that what Ghrifl would have
believed by his Difciples, we may fee by
this his laft Prayer for them when he was
leaving the World, as well as by what he
preached vvhillt he was in it.

And as a Teftimony of this, one of his
laft Actions, even when he was upon the
Crofs, was to confirm this Doctrine, by
giving Salvation to one of the Thieves that
was crucified with him, upon his Declara-
tion that he believed him to be the Mejftah ;
for fo much the Words of his Requeft im-
ported, whenjiefaid, Remember 7m ^ Lord^
'when thou come/i into thy Kingdom^ Luke
xxiii. 42. To which Jefus replied, ver. ^^,
Verily I fay unto thee^ T'o Day jh alt thou be
with me in Paradife. An Expreffion very
remarkable ; for as Jdam^ by Sin, loft
^aradife^ i. e. a State of happy Immor-
tality, here the believing Thief, through
his Faith in Jefus the Mejftah^ is promifed
to be put in Paradile, and {6 re-inftated in
an happy Immortality.

Thus our Saviour ended his Life. And
what he did after his Refurredion, S. Luke
tells us, ^tfs i. 3. That he fhewed himfelf
to the Apoftles fiyty Days, fpeaking
Things concerning the Kingdo?n of God,
This was what our Saviour preached in the
whole Courfe of his Miniftry, before his
Pailion : And no other Myfteries of Faith
does he now difcover to them after his Refur-

reclion.

as delivered hi the Scriptures. i6"t

redion. All he fays, is concerning the
Kingdom of God ; and what it was he faid
concerning that, we fhall fee prefently out
of the other Evangelifts ; having firft only
taken notice, that when they now asked
him, vcr. 6. Lord, wilt thou at this 7'im<:
rejiure cigaiji the Kingdom to Ifrael ? He
faid unto them, ver. 7. It is not for you to
know the I'imeSy and the Seajons, which the
leather hath fat into his own Power : But y&
JJmU receive Power after that the Holy Ghofl
is come upon you j and ye fljall he fVittiefTcs
unto ine unto the utinoft Parts of the Earth.
Their great Bufinefs was to be WitnefTes
to Jefus, of his Life, Death, Refurrecliori,
and Afcenfion ; which piit together, were
undeniable Proofs of his being the Mefjiah.
This w^as what they were to preach, and
what he faid to them concerning the King-
dom of God, as will appear by what is
recorded of it in the other Evangelifts.

When on the Day of his Rcfurre^lion,
he appeared to the two going to Rmmaus^
Lake xx'iv. they declare, ver. 21. what his
Difciplcs Faith in him was : But zve trufted
that it had been he that fhould have redeemed
Ifrael ; /, e. We believed that he was the
Mefjiah, come to deliver the Nation of the
Jews. Upon this Jefus tells them, that
they ought to believe him to be rh Melfiah^
iiotwithftanding what had hap])ened-, nay,
they ought by his Suffering and Death to bs

L, con^

1 6a I'he Reafonahknefs o/" Chrlftianity,

confirmed in that Faith, that he was the
M^ijfiah. And ver. 26, 27. Beginning at
Mofes and all the Prophets^ he expounded
unto them in all the Scriptures^ the Things
concerning hlmjelf-^ How, that the Mediah
ought to have fuffertd theje Things^ and to
have entered Into his Glory. Now he ap-
plies the Prophefles of the Mejfiah to him-
lelf, which we read not that he did ever
do before his Pailion. And afterwards
appearing to the Eleven, huke xxiv. 7,6*
He faid unto them, ver, 44-- 47. 'The
Words which I fpoke unto you while I was
yet with you^ that all Things muft hefulJiUed
which are written in the Law ^ Mofes, and
hi the Prophets^ and In the Pjahns concern^
ing ??ie. Then opened he their Under fland^
ings^ that they might under fl and the Scripture^
andjald unto theni^ Thus it is written:^ and
thus it behoved the Meffiah to fuffer^ and to
rife fro7n the Dead the third Day \ and that
Repentance^ and Remijfion of Sins JJjould be
preached in his ISfame among all Nations^
beginning at Jerufalem. Here we fee what it
was he had preached to them, though not
in fo plain open Words before his Cruci-
lixion ; and what it is he now makes tlicm
underftand ; and what it was that v^^as to be
preached to -all Nations, viz. That he was
the Mejjiahy that had fuffered, and rofe
from the Dead the third Day, and fulfilled
all Things that were written in the Old

Tefta-

as delivered in the Scriptures. i ^3

Teftament concerning the Mefjiah ; and
that thole who believed this, and repented,
fhoiild receive Remiffion of their Sins thro'
this Faith in him. Or, as S. Mark has it,
ch. xvi. 15. G.0 into all the Worlds and preach
the Gofpel to every Creature ; he that heiievethj
and is baptized^ jhallhe Javed\ but he that
believeth not^ (hall be damned^ ver. 20. What
the Gofpely or Good Nezvs was, we have
Ihewed already, viz. The happy Tidings
of the Mefjiah being come, ver. ao. And they
wentjorth and preached every where^ the Lo^d
working with them^ and conjirrmng the Word
with Signs folbzvwg. What the ffWd was
which they preached, and the Lord con-
firmed with Miracles, we have fcen ah-eady
out of the Hiftory of their Acts : 1 have al-
ready given an Account of their Preaching
every where, as it is recorded in the Jdfsy
except fome few Places, where the Kingdom
oi tht AfeJJJah is mentioned under the Name
o^ the Kingdom of God., which I forbore to
let down, till I had made it plain out of
the Evangelifts, that That was no other
but the Kingdom of the Mejfuih.

It may be feafonable therefore now, to
add to thofe Sermons we have formerly
ittrx of St. Paul (wherein he preached no
other Article of Faith, but that Jejus was
the Mefliah, the King, who being rifen
from the Dead, now reigneth, and fhall
more publickly manifcft his Kingdom, in
L 2 ju^gi^S

164 fhe Reafoiiahknefs o/'Chriftianity,

judging the World at the Laft Day) what
farther is left upon Record of his Preach-
ing, ylcfs xix. 8. At EpheJ'us^ Paul went
into the Synagogues^ cuidjpake boldly for the
(pace of three Months ^ d'lfpiit'ing and per^
Jhadlng concerning the Kingdom of God.
And A^s Kx. 25. At Miletus he thus takes
leave of the Elders o'i JLphefus : Jnd now
heholdy I know that ye all among whom I have
gone preaching the Kingdom of God^ fhalljte
my Face no more ^ What this preaching the
Kingdom of God \v;iS, he tells you, ver.
ao, 21. I have kept nothing hack j I om yoUy
which was profitable unto yoUj but have
Jhewed yoii^ and have tauglot you pubUckly^
and from Hoiife to Houfe ; teflifying both to
the Jews, and to the Greeks, Repentance
towards God, and Faith towards our Lord
Jefus Chrift. And fo again, ^^s xxviii.
23, 24. fVhen they [the Jews at Ro)?2e~\
had appointed him [ Paul ] a Day, there
came many to him into his Lodgings ; to
whom he expounded and tefifitd the King-
dom of God', perfiiading them concerniyig
Jefus, both out of the Law of Mofes, and
out of the Prophets, from Morning to Even-
ing. And Jo me believed the T'hings which
were J poke?!, and Jhne believed not. And
the Hiftory of the Atfs is concluded with
this Account of St. ^auT^ preaching: And
Paul dwelt tzvo whole 21'ars in his own hired
Houfe, and received all that cam^e in unto

hiniy

as delivered in the Scriptures. 1 6^

him^ preaching the Kingdom of God^ and
teaching thoje Things which concern the Lord
J-eJhs the Meffiah. We may therefore here
apply the fame Concliifion, to the Hiftory
of our Saviour, writ by the Evangelifts ;
and to the Hiitory of the Apoilles writ in
the ^ois, which Sc. J-ohn does to his own
Gofpel, chap. xx. 30, 31. Many other Signf
did Jefns before his Difcipks : And in
many other Places the Apoftles preached
the fame Doctrine, 'uihich are not written
in thefe Rooks ; Bat thefe are written^ that
you may believe that Jefi(.s is the Meffiah,
the Son of God \ and that believing you may
have Life in his Name.

What St. John thought neceflary and
fufficicnt to be believed^ for the attaining
Eternal Life, he here tells us. And this,
not in the lirft Dawning of the Golpel,
when, perhaps, fome will be apt to think
lels was required to be believed, than after
the Doctrine of Faith, and Myftery of Sal-
vation was more fully explained in the
Epiitles writ by the Apoftles. For it is to
be remcmbred, that S. "J-ohn fays this not as
foon as Chrift was alcended ; for thefe
Words, with the reft of St. John's Gofpel,
were not written till many Years after, not
only the otiier Gofpels, and St. Luke's
Hiftory of the ^Cts^ but, in all appearance,
after all the Epiftles writ by the other
Apoftles. So that above thrccfcorc Years
L 3 after

1 66 T'he Reafonahlenefs of Chriftianity,

after our Saviour's Paffion (for fo long
after, both Epiphan'ms and S. Jerome aiTure
us this Gofpel was written) St. '^■ohn knew
nothing elfe required to be believed for the
attaining of Life, but that 'Jejtis h the
Meffiah, the Son of God,

To this, 'tis hkely, it will be objeded
by fome, that to believe only that Jefas of
i^azareth is the Meffiah^ is but an Hifiorical
and not a ]ultifying or Saving Faith.

To which I anfwer, that I allow to the
Makers of Syftems, and their Followers,
to invent and ufe what Diftinctions they
pleaie ; and to call Things by what Names
they think fit. But I cannot allow to them,
or to any Man, an Authority to make a
Rehgion for me, or to alter that which
God hath revealed. And if they pleafe to
call the believing that which our Saviour
and his Apoftles preached and propofed
alone to be believed, an Htflorical Faith,
they have their Liberty, but they muft
have a care how they deny it to be a Jufti-
fying or Saving Faith, when our Saviour and
his Apoftles have declared it fo to be, and
taught no other which Men ftiould receive,
and whereby they ftiould be made Believers
unto eternal Life \ unlefs they can fo far make
bold with our Saviour, for the Sake of their
beloved Syftems, as to fay, that he forgot
what he came into the World for ; and that
|ie and his Apoftles did not inftrud People

right

as delivered in the Scriptures. i6'j

right in the Way and jMyileries of Salva-
tion : For that this is thelble Dodrine prefled
and required to beUeved in the whole
Tenor of our SAviour's and his Apoftles
preaching, we have fhevved through the
whole Hiflory of the Evangelifts and the
^cfs. And I challenge them to fhew,
that there was any other Dodrine, upon
their AiTenc to which, or Disbelief of it,
Men were pronounced Believers or Unbe-
lievers ; and accordingly received into the
Church of Chritt, as Members of his Body,
as far as mere Believing could make them
fo, or elfe kept out of it : This was the
only Gofpel-Article of Faith which was
preached to them. And if nothing elfe
was preached every where, the Apoftle's
Argument will hold againft any other Ar-
ticles of Faith to be believed under the
Gofpel, Rom. x. 14. How Jlo all they believe
that whereof they have not heard ? For to
preach any other Dodrines neceflary to be
believed, we do not find that any body
was fent.

Perhaps, it will be further argued. That
this is not a Saving Faith, becaufe fuch a
Faith as this the Devils may have, and it
was plain they had ; for they believed and
declared Jefus to be the Meffiah. And
Si.'J-ames^ chap. li. ip. tells us, f he Devils
believe, and tremble ; and yet they fhall not
be faved. To which I anfwer, i. That
L 4 they

1 68 ^he Rectfo}iahIenefs of Chx\^\m\iYy

they could not be flived by any Faith, to
whom it was not propofcd as a Means of
Salvation, nor ever promifed to be counted
for Righteoufnefs, This was an A£t of
Grace, fhewn only to Mankind. God dealt
fo favourably with the Poftcrity of Jdam^
that if they would believe Jefus to be the
MejffJcihy the prooiifed King and Saviour,
and perforrn what other Conditions were
required of them by the Covenant of Grace,
God would juftify them becaufe of this
Belief; he would account this Faith to them
for Righteoufnefs, and look on it as making
up the Defects of their Obedience ; which
being thus fupplied by what was taken in-
ftead of it, they were looked on as juft or
Righteous, and fo inherited Eternal Life.
But this Favour fliewn to Mankind, was
never offered to the fallen Angels. They
had no fuch Propolals made to them ; and
therefore whatever of this kind was pro-
pofcd to Men, it availed not Devils what-
ever they performed of it. This Covenant
of Grp.ce was never olfered to them.

1. I anfvver ; That though the Devils
believed, yet they could not be llived by
the Covenant of Grace ; becaufe they per-
formed not the pth^r Condition required in
it, altogether as neceflary to be performed
as this of Believing ; and that is Repentance.
Repentance is as ablblute a Condition of the
(Covenant of Grace, as Faith ; and as ne-

ceffary

ds delhered in the Scriptures. j 6^

ceffary to be performed, as that. John the
Bapfifty who was to prepare the Way for
the MeJJiiihy peached the Baptijm of Repen-
tance p'or the Remijjion of S'ws^ Mark i. 4.

As John began his preaching with i?^-
pent^ Jor the Kingdom of Heaven is at Hand^
Mat. iii. 2. fb did our Saviour begin his,
Mat iv. 17. Frof7i that time began Jefus to
preachy and to fay^ Repent^ for the King-
dom of Heaven is at Hand. Or, as St. Mark
has it in the parallel Place, Mark i. 14,
1 5. Now after that John "jjas put in Prifon^
Jefus came into Galilee, preaching the G of pel
of the Kingdom of Gody and Jaying \ uhe
T'ime is filflledy and the Kingdom oj God is
at Hand : Repent ye^ and believe the GoJpeL
This was not only the Beginning of his
Preaching, but the Sum of ail that he did
preach ; viz. That Men Ihould repent,
and believe the good Tidings which he
brought them. That the Time was fulfilled
for the coming of the Mejfah. And this
was what his Apoftles preached, when he
fent them out, Mark vi. 12. ^nd they
going outy preached that Men foould repent.
Believing Jefus to be the MeJfiah^ and Re-
penting, were fo nccefiary and fundamental
Parts of the Covenant of Grace, that one
of them alone is often put for both. For
here St. Marh mentions nothing but their
preaching Repentance ; as St. Luke^ in the
parallel Place, chap. ix. C, mentions no-
thing

I "JO The KeafonahJenefs of Chriftianity,

thing but their Evangelizing, or Preaching
the Good News of the Kingdom of the
Meffiah. And St. Paul often in his EpllLles
puts Faith for the whole Duty of a Chri-
ftian. But yet the Tenor of the Gofpel is
what Chrift declares, Luke xii. 3, 5. Unkfs
ye repent^ ye Jhall all likewtje perijh. And
in the Parable of the Rich Man in Hell,
delivered by our Saviour, Luke xvi. Re-
pentance alone is the Means propofed of
avoiding that Place of Torment, ver. 30,
31. And what the Tenor of the Dodrine,
which fhould be preached to the World,
ihould be, he tells his Apoftles after his
Refurredion, Luke xxiv. 27. viz. That
Repentance and Rem'iJJion of Sins fJoould be
preached in his Name^ who was the Mefjtah,
And accordingly Believing Jefus to be the
Mejfiah^ and Repenting, was what the
Apoftles preached. So Peter began, JlBs
ii. 38. Repent^ and he baptized. Thefe
two Things were required for the Remif-
fion of Sins, viz. entering themfelves in
the Kingdom of God, and owning and
profeiling themfelves the Subjeds of Jefus
whom they believed to be the MeJJiah^ and
received for their Lord and King ; for that
was to be baptized in his Name : Baptifm
being an initiating Ceremony known to the
Jews ^ whereby thofe, who leaving
Heathenifm, and profe fling a SubmilTion
to the Law of Mojesy were received into

the

as delivered in the Scriptures, lyi

the Commonwealth of IfraeL And fo it
was made ufe of by our Saviour, to be that
folemn vifible Ad, whereby thofe who
believed him to be the Mejjiah^ received
him as their King, and profefled Obedience
to him, were admitted as Subjects into his
Kingdom : Which in the Gofpels is called
The Kingdom of God ; and in the ^^s and
Epiftles often by another Name, viz. The
Church.

The fame St. Peter preaches again to the
JewSy jicfs iii. i^. Repent., and be con-
verted., that your Sins may he blotted out.

What this Repentance was, which the
New Covenant required as one of the Con-
ditions to be performed by all thofe who
fhould receive the Benefits of that Cove-
nant, is plain in the Scripture, to be not
only a Sorrow for Sins paft, but (what is a
natural Confequence of fuch Sorrow, if it
be real) a turning from them, into a .new
and contrary Life. And fo they are joined
together. Acts iii. ijp. Repent., and turn
about ; or, as we render it, Be converted.
And, A6is xxvi. Repent and turn to God,

And fometimes Turning about is put alone
to fignify Repentance, Matt, xiii. 15. Luke
xxii. 32. Which in other Words is well
cxprefTed by Newnefs of Life. For it
being certain, that he who is really forry
for his Sins, and abhors them, will turn
from them, and forfake themj either of

thefe

172- The Rea/onahlenejs ^Chriftianlty,

thefe Acts, which have fo natural a Gon-<
nexion one with the other, may be, and is
often put for both together. Repentance
is a hearty Sorrow for our paft Mifdeeds,
and a fincere Refohition and Endeavour,
to the utmoffc of our Power, to conform all
our Adions to the Law of God. So that
Repentance does not confift in one fingle
Ad of Sorrow (though that being the firft
and leading Ad, gives Denomination to the
whole) but in doing Works of Repentance,
in a fincere Obedience to t!ie Law of Ghrift,
the Remainder of our Lives. This was
called for by John the Baptlfly the Preacher
of Repentance, Matt. iii. 8. Bring forth
Fruits meet for Repentance. And by St. Paul
here, ^cls xxvi. ao. Repent and turn to
God, and do fforks meet for Repentance.
There are Works to follow belonging to
Repentance, as well as Sorrow for what is

Thefe two, Faith and Repentance ; /. e.
believing Jefus to be the Mefjiah^ and a
good Life, are the indifpenfable Gonditions
of the New Govenant to be performed by
all thofe who would obtain Eternal Life.
The Realbnablenefs, or rather Neceflity
of which, that we may the better compre-
hend, wx muft la little look back to what
was fiid in the Beginning.

Adam being the Son of God; and 'fo
St. hiike calls him, chap. iii. 38. had thi§

Part

as delivered in the Scriptures. if^

Part alfo of the Dhenefs and Image of his
Father, viz. That he was Immortal. But
^dam tranfgrefling the Command given
him by his heavenly Father, incurred the
Penalty, forfeited that State of Immortality,
and became Mortal. After this, Adam be-
got Children, but they were in his own
Ltkenejs^ after his own Image ^ Mortal,
like their Father.

God neverthelefs , out of his infinite
Mercy, willing to beilow Eternal Life on
INlortal Men, lends Jeftis Chrifi into the
World ^ who being conceived in the Womb
of a Virgin (that had not known Man) by
the immediate Power of God, was properly
the Son of God •, according to what the
Angel declared to his Mother, Li/keu 30-35.
7'he Holy Ghoji floall come upon thce^ and the
Power of the Higheji fhall OverfJjadow thee :
therefore alfo that Holy Thing which fhall
be born of thee, JImU hi called "THE SON
OF GOD. So that being the Son of
God, he was, like his Father, Immortal,
As he tells us, ^ohn v. 26. yJs the Father
hath Life in himfelf Jo hath he given to the
Son to have Lije in himfelj.

And that Immortality is a Part of that
Image, wherein thefe (who were the im-
mediate Sons of God, fo as to have no
other Father) were made like their Father,
appears probable, not only from the Places
in Genejjs concerning Adam, above taken

notice'

174 TheReaJbnahknefsofChxi^imiiYy

notice of, but feems to me alfo to be in-
timated in fome Expreflions concerning
Jefus the Son of God. In the New Tefta-
ment, Col. i. 15. He is called the Image of
the Invifihh God. Invjfrbk feems put in,
to obviate any grofs Imagination, that he
(as Images ufed to do) reprefented God in
any corporeal or vifiblc Refemblance. And
there is farther fubjoined, to lead us into
the Meaning of it, T'he Flrji-horn of every
Creature'^ which is farther explained, ver.
18. where he is termed, The Firjf-horn
from the Dead : Thereby making out, and
ihewing himfelf to be the Image of the In-
vilible God; that Death hath no Power
Power over him : But being the Son of
God, and not having forfeited that Sonfhip
by any Tranlgreffion, was the Heir of
Eternal Life ; as Adam Ihould have been,
had he continued in his filial Duty. In the
fame Senfe the Apoftle feems to ufe the
Word Image in other Places, viz. Rom.
viii. np. fVhom he didforehwzv^ he alfo did
f rede f mate to he cojformed to the Image of
his Sou, that he might he the Firfi-born
among ?77any Brethren, This Image^ to
which they were conformed, feems to be
hnmortalhy and Eternal Life. For 'tis
remarkable, that in both thefe Places
St. Paul fpeaks of the Refurredion, and
that Chrift was the F'lrfl-horn among many
Brethren ; he being by Birth the Son of

God,

as delivered m the Scriptures. 1 75

God, and the others only by Adoption,
as we fee in this fame Chapter, ver, 1 5— 1 7.
Te have received the Spirit of jidoptlon^
whereby we cry, j^bba^ Father : 7^he Spirit
itjelj bearing Wltnejs with our Spirits, that
we are the Children oj God. And If ChlU
drefty then Heirs \ and Joint-Heirs with
Chrift : If Jo be that we Jufer with him^
that we may alfo be glorified together. And
hence we fee, that our Saviour vouchfafes
to call thofe, who at the Day of Judgment
are through him entring into Eternal Life,
his Brethren ^ Matt. xxv. 40. Inafmuch
as ye have done It unto one of the lea ft of thefe
my Brethren. May we not in this find
a Reafon why God fo frequently in the
New Teftament, and lb feldom, if at all,
in the Old, is mentioned under the fingle
Title of THE FATHER? And
therefore our Saviour fays, Matt. xi. No
Man hnoweth the Father fave the Son, and
he to whomfoevcr the Son will reveal hlm»
God has now a Son again in the World,
the Firft-born of many Brethren, who all
now, by the Spirit of Adoption, can fay,
jdbba. Father ; and we by Adoption, being
for his Sake made his Brethren, and the
Sons of God, come to fhare in that Inheri-
tance which was his natural Right, he
being by Birth the Son of God : Which In-
heritance is Ecernal Life. And again,
ver. 23. IVe groan within ottrfehes, wait-

jnz

iy6 T'he Reafonahknefs of Ghriftlanity,

ingfor the Adoption^ to wif, the Redemption
of our Body\ whereby is plainly meant the
Change of thele frail Mortal Bodies, into
the Spiritual Immortal Bodies at the Refur-
reclion • JVhsn this Mortal Jhall have put on
Immortality^ i Cor. xv. 54. which in that
Chapter, ver. 42—44. he farther expreffes
thus : So alfo Is the Refarre^'ion of the Dead.
It is f own in Corruption^ it is raifed in In-
corruption : It is jown in Difionour^ it is
raij'ed in Glory : It is fown in JVeaknefs^ it
is raifed in Power : It is fown a Natural
Body, it is raij'ed a Spiritual Body, &c.
To which he fubjoins, ver. 4jp. As we
have borne the Image of the Earthy (/. e.
As We have beeri Mortal, like Earthy
Adam our Father, from whom we are de-
fcended, when he was turned out of Para-
dile) we. fall alfo hear the Image of the
Heavenly \ into whole Sonlhip and Inheri-
tance being adopted, w^e ihall, at the Re-
furredion, receive that Adoption we ex-
ped, Even the Redemption of our Bodies'^
and after his Image, which is tlie Image of
the Father, become Immortal. Hear what
he himfelf fays, Luke xx> ^^, ^6. I'hey
who Jhall he accounted worthy to obtain that
World, and the RefhTe^ionfom the Dead,
neither marry, nor are given in Marriage.
Neither can they die any more ', for they are
equal unto the Angels, and are the SO NS
OF GOD) being the Sons oj the Refur^

reUiom

as delivered In the Scriptu res. 177

^eciion. And he that ihall read St. Pcinrs
Argument, ^^s xiii. 32, ^^. will lind,
that the great Evidence that Jcfus was the
Sojj of Godj was his Refurredion. Then
the Image of his Father appeared in him,
when he vifibly entered into the State of
Immortality. For thus the Apoftle
leafbns ; fVe preach to yoa^ how that the
Prom'ife which was made to our Fathers^
God hath fidjilkd the fame unto us, in that
he hath raifed up Jefus again \ as it is aljo
written in the fecond PJalm^ Thou art my
Son, this Day have I begotten thee.

This may ferve a little to explain the
Lmnortality of the Sons of God, who are in
this, like their Father, made after his Image
and Likencfs. But that our Saviour was
fo, he himfclf farther dechu-es, "John^* \%»
where fpeaking of his Life, he fays, ATo
one taketh it from me, hat I lay it down of
mvfelf: I have fower to lay it dozvu, and I
have Power to take it up again. Which he
could not have had if he had been a mortal
Man, the Son of a Man, of the Seed of
yidam; or elfe had by any Tranfgreilion
forfeited his Life : For the Wages of Sin is
Death. And he that hath incurred Death
for his own Tranfgreffion, cannot lay down
his Life for another, as our Saviour pro-
feffes he did. For he was the Juft One,
v'l^ts vii. 57. and xii. 11. llljo knezv no
Sin. ^iCor.s. 21. }Vho did noSin^ neither

M was

178 The Reafonahknefs of Chriftianity,

was Guile found in his Mouth. And thus,
yh by Man came Death^ fo by Man ca?ne the
Kefurreoiion of the Dead, For as in Adam
all die, fo hi Chr'ijt fhall all be made alive.

For this laying down his Life for others,
our Saviour tells us, 'John x. 17. T^here-
fore does my Father love me^ becaufe I lay
down my L'tfe^ that I might take it again.
And this his Obedience and Suffering was
rewarded with a Kingdom, which he tells
us, LuJze xxii. His Father had appointed
unto him ; and which, 'tis evident out of
the Epiftle to the Hebrews^ chap. xii. 1. he
had a Regard to in his Sufferings ; Who for
the Joy that luasfet before him^ endured the
Crojsy defpijlng the Shame ^ and is fet down
at the Right Hand of the Throne of God.
Which Kingdom given him upon this ac-
count of his Obedience, Suffering, and
Death, he himfelf takes notice of in thefe
Words, John wni 1—4. jfefus lift up his
Eyes to Heaven, andfiid, Fat he r, the Hour
is come., glorify thy Son, that thy Son alfo
may glorijy thee. As thou hafl given him
Power over all Flefj, thai he fjould give Eter-
nal Life to as many as thou haft given him.
u4nd this is Life Eternal., that they may
knozv thee the only true God., and Jejiis the
Meffiah, whorajhou haf fent. I have glo-
rified thee on Earth : I have jinifljed the
14 O'k which thou gavefl me to do. And
St. -Pr////, in his Epiille to the Philippians^

chap.

as delivered m the Scriptures. ly^

chap. \u 8— II. He humhled himfdf^ and
became obedient unto Death ^ even the Death
of the Crofs. Wherefore God aljo hath
highly exalted him^ and given him a ISIajne
that is above every Name : T^hat at the Name
of y-efus every Knee (JoaJl bow^ of Things in
Heaven^ and things in Earthy and things
tinder the Earth ; and that every Tongue
Jhould confefs that Jelus Chrift is Lord.

Thus God, we fee, defigned his Son
Chrifl J-efus a Kingdom, an everlafling
Kingdom in Heaven. But though as in
Adam all die, Jo in Chriji fjall all be made
alive ; and all Men fhall return to Life
again at the Laft Day : yet all Men having
finned, and thereby come fhort of the Glory
of God^ as St. /*^/// affures uS; Kom.m. 23.
(/. e. Not attaining to the heavenly King-
dom of the Mejfiah^ which is often called
the Glory of God \ as may be feen, Rom.
V. 2. and XV. 7. and ii. 7. Matt. xvi. 27.
Mar\ viii. 38. For no one who is un-
righteous, i. e. comes jQiort of perfed:
Righteoufnefs, fhall be admitted into the
Eternal Life of that Kingdom : As is de-
clared, I Cor. vi. 9. I'he Unrighteovs fljall
72ot inherit the Kingdom of God). And
Death, the Wages of Sin, being the Por-
tion of all thofe who had tranlgrefTed the
righteous Law of God, the Son of God
would in vain have come into the World,
to lay the Foundations of a Kingdom, and
M 2 gather

iSo 'the Reafoncihknefs o/'Chriftianity,

gather together a feled People out of the
World, if (they being found Guilty at
their Appearance before the Judgment-Seat
of the righteous Judge of all Men at the
Laft Day) inftead of Entrance into Eternal
Life in the Kingdom he had prepared for
them, they fhould receive Death, the juft
Reward of Sin, which every one of them
was guilty of. This fecond Death would
have left him no Subjeds ; and inftead of
thofe Ten thoufand times Ten thoufand,
and ThouUxnds of Thoufands, there would
not have been one left him to fing Praifes
unto his Name, faying, BkJJivg, and
Honour^ and Glory ^ and Powers be unto Him
that Jitteth on the 'throne^ and unto the
Land? for ever and ever. God therefore,
out of his Mercy to Mankind, and for the
ereding of the Kingdom of his Son, and
furnifhing it with Subjects out of every
Kindred, and Tongue, and People, and
Nation, propofed to the Children of Men,
that as many of them as would believe
Jefus his Son (whom he fent into the
World) to be the MeJJIah^ the promifed
Deliverer, and would receive him for their
King and Ruler, fhould have all their paft
Sins, Difobedicnce, and Rebellion forgiven
them ; and if for the future they lived in a
fincere Obedience to his Law, to the ut-
moft of their Power, the Sins of Human
Frailty for the time to come, as well as

all

as delivered in /^^^ Scriptures. i8i

all thofe of their paft Lives, fliould, for
his Son's Sake, becaufe they gave them-
felves up to him to be his Subjeds, be
forgiven them : And fo their Faith, which
made them be baptized into his Name;
(/. e. enrol, themfelves in the Kingdom of
Jefus the Mejjiah^ and profefs themfelves
his Subjeds, and confequently live by the
Laws of his Kingdom) fhould be accounted
to them for Righteoufnefs ; /. e. fliould
fupply the Defects of a fcanty Obedience
in the Siglit of God ; who counting this
Faith to them for Righteoufnefs, or com-
plete Obedience, did thus Juftify, or make
them Juft, and thereby capable of Eternal
Life.

Now, that this is the Faith for which
God of his free Grace juftifies finful Man \
(for V/j" God alone that jufllfieth^ Rom. viii.
33. Rom. iii. 26.) we have already fhewed,
by obferving through all the Hiftory of
our Saviour and the Apoftles, recorded in
the Evangelifts, and in the ^cfs^ what he
and his' Apoftles preached and propofed to
be believed. We fliall fhew now, that be-
fides believing him to be the Mefjiah their
King, it was farther required, that thofe
who would have the Privilege, Advantage,
and Deliverance of his Kingdom, iliould
enter themfelves into it ; and bv Bapcifm
being made Denifons, and folemnly incor-
porated into that Kingdom, live as became
M 3 Subjects

1 8a fhe Reafonabkmfs of Ghriftlanity,

Subjects obedient to the Laws of it. For
if they believed him to be the Mejftah
their King, but would not obey his Laws,
and would not have him to reign over
them, they were but the greater Rebels ;
and God would not Juftify them for a Faith
that did but increafe their Guilt, and op-
pofe diametrically the Kingdom and De-
fign of the Mejfiah ; Who gave himfelf for
usy that he might redeem us from all Iniquity y
and purify unto hlmfeJj a peculiar Peopky
zealous of good Works ^ Titus ii. 14. And
therefore St. Paul tells the Galatians, That
that which availeth is Faith ^ but Faith
working by Love, And that Faith without
Works, i. e. the Works of fmcere Obe-
dience to the Law and Will of Chrift, is
not f jfficient for our Juftification, S. James
fhews at large, chap. ii.

Neither indeed could it be otherwife ;
for Life, Eternal Life, being the Reward of
Juftice or Righteoulhefs only, appointed
by the Righteous God (who is of purer
Eyes than to behold Iniquity) to thofe
only who had no Taint or Infection of Sin
upon them, it is impoffible that he iliould
Juftify thofe who had no regard to
Jaftice at all, whatever they believed. This
would have been to encourage Iniquity,
contrary to .the Purity of his Nature, and
to have conaemned that Eternal Law of
Right, which is Holy, Juft, and Good :

Of

as delivered In the Scriptures. 183

Of which no one Precept or Rule is abro-
gated or repealed ; nor indeed can be,
whilft God is an Holy, )nft, and Righteous
God, and Man a Rational Creature. The
Duties of that Law arifing from the Con-
ftitution of his very Nature, are of eternal
Obligation ; nor can it be taken away, or
difpenfed with, without changing the
Nature of Things, or overturning the Mea-
fures of Right and Wrong, and thereby-
introducing and authorizing Irregularity,
Gonfufion, and Diforder in the World.
Chrift's coming into the World was not for
fuch an End as that ; but, on the contrary,
to reform the corrupt State of degenerate
Man, and out of thofe who would mend
their Lives, and bring forth Fruit meet for
Repentance, erecl: a new Kingdom.

This is the Law of that Kingdom, as
well as of all Mankind : and that Law bv
which all Men fhall be judged at the Laft
Day. Only thofe who have believed jefus
to be the Mejjiah^ and have taken him to
be their King, with a fincere Endeavour
after Righteoufnefs, in obeying his Law,
ihall have their pail Sins not imputed to
them ; and fhall have that Faith taken in-
ftead of Obedience, where Frailty and
Weaknefs made them tranfgrefs, and Sin
prevailed after Converfion in thofe who
hunger and thirft after E^ighteoufnefs (or
pcrfed Obedience) and do not allow them-
M 4 fclves

184 ^he Reafomblenefs ^Chriftianity,

felves in Ads of Difobedience and Rebel-
lion, againft the Laws of that Kingdom
they are entred into.

He did not expect, 'tis true, a perfed
Obedience, void of all Slips and Falls; he
knew our MakC; and the Weaknefs of our
Conftitutions too well, and was fent with
a Supply for that Defect. Befidcs, perfed
Obedience was the Rightcoufnefs of the
Law of Works ; and then the Reward
would be of Debt, and not of Grace ; And
to fuch there was no need of Faith to be
imputed to them for Righteoufhefs. They
ftood upon their own Legs, were Juft al-
ready, and needed no Allowance to be made
them for believing Jefus to be the Mejjiah^
taking him for their King, and becoming
his Subjeds. But that Chrifl; does require
Obedience, fincere Obedience, is evident
from the Laws he himfelf delivers (unlets
he can be fuppoled to give and inculcate
Laws only to have them dilbbeyed) and
from the Sentence he will pafs when he
comes to Judge.

The Faith required was, to believe Jefus
to be the MefiniJ:\ the Anointed, who had
been promifcd by God to the World.
Amongfi: the Jezvs (to wliom the Promiles
and Prophefies of the Mefjlah were more
immediately delivered) Anointing was ufcd
to three Sorts of Perfons at their Inaugura-
tion, whereby they were fet apart to, three

great

as delivered in the Scriptures. 1 85

great Offices, viz. ofPriefts, Prophets, and
Kings. Though thefe three Offices be in
Holy Writ attributed to our Saviour, yet I
do not remember that he any where alTumes
to himfelf the Title of a Prieft, or mentions
any thing relating to his Priefthood ^ nor
does he ipeafc of his being a Prophet but
very fparingly, and once or twice, as it
were, by the bye : But the Gofpel, or the
Good News of the Kingdom of the Mejfiah^
is what he preaches every where, and
makes it his great Bufniefs to publifh to the
World. This he did, not only as molt agree-
able to the Expedation of the Jews, who
looked for their MeJJiah^ chiefly as coming
in Power to be their King and Deliverer,
but as it beft anfvvered the chief End of
his Coming, which was to be a King, and
as fuch to be received by thofe who would
be his Subjeds in the Kingdom which he
came to ered. And though he took not
diredly on himfelf the Title of King till
he was in Cuftody, and in the Hands of
Pilate \ yet 'tis plain King^ and King of
JJrael, were the familiar and received Titles
of the A'UfJiah, See John i. 50. Luke xix.
38. compared with Malt. xxi. p. and
Mark xi. 5). John ^\\, 13. Matt. xxi. 5.
Luke xxiii. 1. compared with Matt, xxvii.
II. and John xviii. '^'^—yj' Mark xv. 12.
compared with Matt, xxyii. 22. Matt.
xxvii. 42.

What

1 8(5 The Keafonabknefs ^Chrlftianity,

What thofe were to do, who believed
him to be the Mejjiah^ and received him
for their King, that they might be admitted
to be Partakers with him of his Kingdom
in Glory, we fhall belt know by the Laws
he gives them, and requires them to obey;
And by the Sentence which he himfelf will
give, when, fitting on his Throne, they
Ihall all appear at his Tribunal, to receive
every one his Doom from the Mouth of
this Righteous Judge of all Men.

What he propofes to his Followers to
be believed, we have already feen ; by
examining his, and his Apoftles Preaching,
Step by Step, all through the Hiftory of
the four Evangelifts, and the A^s of the
Apoftles. The fame Method will befi and
plaineft ihew us, whether he required of
thofe who believed him to be the MeJJiah^
any thing befides that Faith, and what it
was. For he being a King, we fhall lee by
his Commands what he expeds from his
Subjects : For if he did not expect Obe-
dience to them, his Commands would be
but meer Mockery ; And if there were no
Punifhment for the TranfgrefTors of them,
his Laws would not be the Laws of a King,
that had Authority to Command, and
Power to Chaftife the Difobedient ; But
empty Talk, without Force, and without
Influence.

We

as delivered in the Scriptures. i S7

We fliall therefore from his Injundions
(if any luch there be) fee what he has
made Neceffary to be performed, by all
thofe who fhall be received into Eternal
Life in hi^ Kingdom prepared in the Hea-
vens. And in this we cannot be deceived.
What we have from his own Mouth, eipe-
cially if repeated over and over again, in
different Places and Exprellions, will be
paft Doubt and Controverfy. I ftiall pafs
by all that is faid by St. John Bapiji^ or
any other, before our Saviour's Entry upon
his Miniftry and publick Promulgation of
the Laws of his Kingdom.

He began his Preaching with a Com-
mand to Repent ^ as St. Matt, tells us, iv.
17. From that time J-efus began to preach'^
faying^ Repent^ for the Kingdom of Heaven
is at hand. And Luke v. 32. he telJs the
Scribes and Pharifees, / come not to call the
Righteous ; Thofe who were truly {by
needed no Help, they had a Right to the
Tree of Life, but Sinners to Repentance.

In his Sermon, as 'tis called in the
Mount, Luke vi. and Matt. v. &c. He com-
mands they ihould be exemplary in Good
Works. Let your Light Jo Jhine amongfi
Men^ that they may J'ee your Good /forksy
and glorify your Father which is in Heaven^
Matt. V. 15. And that they might know
what he came for, and what he expeded
of them, he tells them, ^^r. 17- -20. fhink

not

1 88 7he Reafoimhknefs ^Chrlftianity,

not that I am come to dtjolve or loolen the
Law^ or the 'Prophets : I am not coine to
dijjdlve^ or looien, but to make it fidl^ or
compleat ; By giving it you in its true and
ftrid Senfe. Here we fee he confirms, and
at once reinforces all the Moral Precepts in
the Old Te [lament. For verily 1 fay to you^
7'ill Heaven and Earth pajs^ one Jot or one
I'ttthy jloall in no wife pafs from the Law
till all be done. Whojoever therefore fjall
break one of thefe lea[i Commandments^ and
Jhall teach Menfo^ he fall be called the lea fly
(/. e. as it is interpreted, Shall not be at all)
in the Kingdom of Heaven. Fer. 21. 1 fay
unto yoii^ That except your Righteoufnejsy
i. e. your Performance of the Eternal Law
of Right, fall exceed the Right eoiifiiejs of
the Scribes and Pharifees^ ye fall in no Cafe
enter into the Kingdom of Heaven : And
then he goes on to make good what he faid,
mr. 1 7. viz. That he was come to compleat
the Lazv^ viz. By giving its full and clear
Senfe, free from the corrupt and loofening
Glolfes of the Scribes and Pharifees, ver»
11-^16. He tells them, That not only
Murder, but caufelefs Anger, and fo much
as Words of Contempt, were forbidden.
He commands them to be reconciled and
kind towards their Adverfaries ; And that
upon Pain of Condemnation. In the fol-
lowing Part of his Sermon, which is to be
read Lnhe vi. and more at large Matt, v,

vi,

as delivered in the Scriptures. i8_9

vi, vii. He not only forbids aftual Un-
cleannefs, but all irregular Defires, upon
pain of ;Hell-lire ; Cauflefs Divorces,
Swearing in Converfation, as well as For-
fwearing in Judgment, Revenge, Retalia-
tion, Oftentation of Charity, of Devotion,
and of Fafting, Repetitions in Prayer ; '
Covetoufnefs, Worldly Care, Cenforiouf-
nefs : And on the other fide, commands
loving our Friends, doing good ro thofe
that Hate us, blelling thofe that Curfe us,
praying for thofe that DefpightfuUy ufe us ;
Patience, and Meeknefs under Injuries ;
Forgivcnefs, Liberality, CompaiTion : And
clofes all his particular Injunctions, with
this general Golden Rule, Matt. vii. 12.
^11 things whatjoevey ye T^oiild have that
Men JJ:?onld do to yoa, do ye even fo to them :
For this is the Law and the Prophets.
And to fhew how much he is in Earneft,
and expecls Obedience to thefe Laws ; He
tells them, Luke vi. ^^. That if they obey,
Great fhall be their R R fVjR D ; they
Jhall be called^ The Sons of the Highejl,
And to all this, in the Conckificn, he adds
this Solemn Sanction \ Why call ye me
Lord., Lord^ and do not the Things that I
Jay ? 'Tis in vain for you to take me for
the Mejjiah your King, unlefs you obey
me. l>Iot every one "d^ho calls me Lordy
Lord^ Jhall enter into the Kingdom oj Hear
ven^ or be the Sons of God j But he that doth

the

i5>o 'T'he Reafonahlenefs o/'Chriftianlty,

the fV'tll of my Father which is in Heaven,
To fuch Difobedient Subjects, though they
have Prophefied and done Miracles in my
Name, I fhall fay at the Day of Judgment,
Depart from me^ ye Workers of Iniquity^ I
'know you not.

When Matt. xii. he was told, That his
Mother and Brethren fought to fpeak with
him, ver. 4^. Stretching out his Hands to
his Difciples^ he faid^ Behold my Mother
and my Brethren ; for whofoever floall do the
Will of my Father., who is in Heaven., he is
my Brother y and Sifter., and Mother, They
could not be Children of the Adoption,
and Fellow-Heirs with him of Eternal Life,
who did not do the Will of his Heavenly
Father.

Matt. XV. and Marh. vii. The Pharifees
finding Fault, that his Difciples eat with
unclean Hands, he makes this Declaration
to his Apoftles ; Do ye not perceive., that
whatfoever frotn zvithout entereth into a Man.,
cannot defile him j hecaufe it enters not into
his Hearty but his Belly. T'hat which
Cometh out of the Many that defleth the Man :
For jrom within y out oj the Heart of Meny
proceed evil fhoughtSy Adulteries y Fornica-
tion Sy Murder Sy fheftSy faljeWitneffeSy Co-
vetoufnefsy PVickednefsy Deceity Lajciviouf-
mfsy an evil Eye^ Bhfphemyy Pridey Foolijlo-
nej's. jiJl theje ill things come from withiny
and defile a Man.

He

as delivered in the Scriptures. i cji

He commands Self-denial, and the cx-
pofing ourfelves to Suffering and Danger,
rather than to deny or dilbwn him • and
this upon Pain of lofing our Souls, which
are of more worth than all the World.
This we may read Matt. xvi. 24 — 27.
and the parallel Places, Matt. viii. and
Luke ix.

The Apoftles difputing amongft them
who Ihould be greateft in the Kingdom of
the MeJJtah^ Matt, xviii. i. he thus deter-
mines the Controverfy, Mark ix. 0^^. If
any one will be jirjl^ let him he hifi of ally
and Servanc of all : And letting a Child be-
fore them, adds, Matt, xviii. 3. Ferily I
fay uutX) yoUy Unkj's ye turn, and become
as Children, yefhall not enter into the King-
dom of Heaven.

Matt, xviii. 15. If thy Brother f jail tref-
fafs againfi thee, go and ttll him his Fault
between thee and him alone : If he foall hear
thee, thou hafi gained thy Brother ; but if
he will not hear thee, then take with thee
one or two more, that in the Mouth of t'ujo
or three Witneffes every Word may he efla^
hlifhed. Jnd if he f jail negleti to hear them,
tell it to the Church j hut if he negleo} to
hear the Church, let him he unto thee as an
Heathen and Publican. Ver. ar. Peter
faid. Lord, How often fjall my Brother fin
again ft me, and I forgive hi?)f? Till f even
Times ? Jffiis fiid unto him^ 1 fay not unto

thee

i()2 The Reafonahknefs ^^Ghriflianity,

thee till feven T'lmes^ hut until feventy times
feven. And then ends the Parable of the
Servant, who being himfelf forgiven, was
rigorous to his Fellow-Servant, with thefe
Words, ver. 34. And his Lord was wroth ^
and delivered him to the T'ormentors^ 'till he
jhould pay all that was due unto him. So
iikewije Jloall my heavenly Father do alfo unto
youy if you fro77i your Hearts forgive not
every one his Brother their Trefpaffes,

Luke X. 25. To the Lawyer, asking
him, JVhat floaJl I do to inherit eternal
Life ? He faidj What is written in the
Law ? How readefi thou ? He anfwered,
I'hou fhalt love th^ Lord thy Gcd with all
thy Hearty and with all thy Soul, and with
all thy Strength^ and with all thy Mind'.,
and thy Neighbour as thyfelf Jefus faid,
^his do., and thou fhalt live. And when
the Lawyer, upon our Saviour's Parable
of the good Samaritan., was forced to con-
fefs, that he that fhewed Mercy was his
Neighbour \ jefus difniiiTed him with this
Charge, ver, 37. Go., and do thou like"
wifi.

Luke xi. 41. Give Alms of fuch Things
as ye have : Behold^ all Things are clean
unto you.

Luke xii. \ ^.^ Take heed., and beware of
Covetoujnefs. Ver. 2;. Re not foUicitous
what ye jhalt eat., or zvhat ye fhall drink.,
nor what ye fij all put on ; be not fearful or

apprehenfive

as delivered m the Scriptures. 1^3

apprehenfive of Want, for it is your Fa~
they's Pkafure to give you a Kingdotn. Sell
that you have^ and give Alms : And fro^
vide yourjelves Bags that wax not old^ and
T^reajhre. in the Heavens that faileth not ;

for where your 'Treafure is, there will your
Heart he alfo. Let your Loins he girdedy
and your Lights hurning ; and ye yourjelves
like unto Men that wait for the Lord^ when
he will return. BleJJed are tho/e ServantSy
whom the Lordj when he . comet hy /hall find
watching. Bkjpd is that Servant y whom
the Lord having made Ruler oj his Hou/holdy
to give them their Portion of Meat in due
Seafbny the Lord, when he cometh^ (lo all find

fo doing : Of a 'Truth 1 fay unto youy that
he will make him a Ruler over all that he
hath. But if that Servant fay in his Hearty
My Lord delayeth his coming, and fall hegiu
to heat the Menfervants, and Maidens, and
to eat and drink, and to be drunken , ths
Lord of that Servant will come in a Day
when he looketh not for him, and at an Hour
when he is not aware, and will cut him in

funder^ and will aj'jwint him his Portion
with Unbelievers. And that Servant who
knew his Lords H ill, and prepared not him-

felf neither did according to his Will, fall
be beaten with many Strifes : For he that
knew not, and did commit Things worthy of
Stripes, fhall be beaten with feiv Stripes ;

for unto whomfoever much is given,- of him

N fall

1^4 7" he ReafoHahlemfs of Chn^hnky,

Jhall he much required ; atid to whom Men
have committed muchy oj him they will ask
the more.

Luke xiv. 1 1 . fVhofoever exalteth htm^

felf jhall he abafed ; and he that. hu7nhkth
himfelfy Jhall he exalted.

Ver. 12. J-Vhen thou makeji a Dinner or
Supper^ call not thy Friends^ or thy Ere^
thren^ neither thy Kinfmen^ nor thy Neigh-
hoursy leji they aljo hid thee agaln^ and a
Recompefice he made thee. But when thou
mdkeji a Feaft^ call the foor and Maimed^
the Lame and the Blind-, and thou Jhalt he
hl€£ed ; for they cannot reconipenj'e thee ;
for thou Jhalt he recompenfed at the Refur-
re^ion of the Ju/l.

Ver. ^^. So iikewife, whofoever he he of
you that is not ready to forego all that he

. hath, he cannot he my Difciple.

Luke xvi. ^. I fay unto you. Make to
yourjelves Friends of the Mcimmon of Un-
righteoufnefs, that when ye fail., they may
deceive you into everlafilng Habitations. If
ye have not heen faithful in the unrighteous
Mammon., who will cornmlt to your "Truft the
true Riches? And if yc have not heen Jaith-
Jul in that which is another Mans, who f jail
give you that which is your own ?

Luke xvii.- 3. If thy Brother trejpafs

again/} thee, rehuke him j and if he repent,

forgive him. ' And if he trefpafs againji thee

ftven times in a Day, and Jeven tijnes in a

Day

as delivered if2 the Scriptures. i^^

iDay turn a^a'm to thee^ fiyingy I repent ^ thou
Jloalt forgive hi'ni.

Luke xviii. i. He fpoke a Parable to
them^ to this End, that Men ought always
to pray^ and not to faint,

Ver. 1 8. One comes to him, and asks hiniy
fiyingy Maftei'y what fJoall I do to inherit
eternal Life ? Jeflis faid to him^ If thou
wilt enter into Lije, keep the Commandments,
He fays J Which? Jefus faid^ Thou knowefi
the Commandments : T'hou foalt not Kill ;
^hoafjalt not commit Adultery ; Thou Jh alt
not Steal '^ fhoufjalt not hear falfe Witnefs ;
Defraud not j Honour thy Father and thy
Mother ; And thou fhalt love thy 'Neighbour
as thyfelf He faid, All thefe have I oh'
ferved from my Touth. Jefus hearing thisy
loved him ; and faid unto him, Tet lacked
thou one I'hing : Sell all that thou hafl, and
give it to the ^oor, and thou fhalt have
Treafire in Heaven \ and come, follow me.
To underftand this right, we muft take
take Notice, that this young Man asks our
Saviour, what he muft do to be admitted
efFedually into the Kingdom of the y]/^-
Jiah ? The Jtws believed, that when the
Mejjiah came, thofe of their Nation that
received" him fliould not die ; but that they,
with thofc who being dead, Ihould then
be raifed again by him, fhould enjoy eter-
nal Life with him. Our Saviour, in an-
fwer to this Demand, tells the young Man,
N 2 tliac

1^6 7'he Reafojiahknefs o^Chrlftlanity,

that to obtain the eternal Life of the King-
dom of the Mejpahj he muft keep the
Commandments. And then enumerating
feveral of the Precepts of the Law, the
young Man fays, he had obferved thefe
from his Childhood : For which, the Text
tells us, Jefus loved him. But our Savi-
our, to try whether in earneft he believed
him to be the Mejjiah^ and reiblved to take
him to be his King, and to obey him as
fuch, bids him give all he has to the Poor,
and come, and follow him, and he fhould
have Treafure in Heaven. This I look
on to be the Meaning of the Place : This
of felling all he had, and giving it to the
Poor, not being a ftanding Law of his
Kingdom, but a probationary Command to
this young Man, to try whether he truly
believed him to be the Mefjiah^ and was
ready to obey his Commands, and relin-
quifh all to follow him, when he his Prince
required it.

And therefore we fee, Liike xix. 14.
where our Saviour takes Notice of the ^ews
not receiving him as t!ie Meffiah^ he ex-
preffes it thus, We zv'iU not have this Man
to reign over us. 'Tis iiot enough to be-
lieve him to be the MeJ/iah, unlels we alfo
obey his Laws, and take him to be our
King, to reign over us.

. Matt. xxii. 11 — 13. He that had not on
the Wedding-Garment, though he accepted

of

as delivered in the Scriptures. 15)7

of the Invitation, and came to the Wed-
ding, was caft into utter Darknefs. By
the Wedding'-Garment ^ 'tis evident good
Works are meant here. That Wedding-
Garment of fine Linen, clean and white,
which we are told. Rev. xix. 8. is the
^iKctioojuccrcty righteous Atis of the Saints :
Or, as St. Paul calls it, Ephef, iv. i. ne
walking worthy of the Vocation wherewith
we are called. This appears from the Pa-
rable itfelf ; The Kingdom of Heaven^ fays
our Saviour, ver. 1. is like unto a King
who made a Marriage for his Son. And
here he diftinguilhcs thofe who were in-
vited into three Sorts ; i. Thofe who were
invited, and came not, /. e. thole who had
the Gofpel, the good News of the King-
dom of God propofed to them, but be-
lieved not. 2. Thofe who came, but had
not on a Wedding-Garment, /. e. believed
Jefus to be the MeJJiah^ but were not new
clad (as I may fo lay) with a true Repen-
tance and Amendment of Life, nor adorned
with thofe Virtues, which the Apoftle, Col
iii. requires to be put on. 3. Thofe who
were invited, did come, and had on the
Wedding-Garment, i. e. heard the Gofpel,
believed Jefus to be the Mefftah^ and (in-
cerely obeyed his Laws. Thcfe three Sorts
are plainly defigned here \ v.hercof the laft
only were the Blclfed, who were to enjoy
the Kingdom prepared for them.

N 3 Matt,

S5>S The ReafonahJenefs of Chriftianity,

Matt, xxiii. Be not ye called Rabbi ; for
cm is your Mafler^ even the Mefliah, and ye
all are Brethren. And call no Man your
Father upon the Earth ; for one is your Fa-
ther which is in Heaven, Neither be ye
called Mafters \ for one is your Mafter^ even
the Meffiah. But he that isgreatefi among fi
yoUy Ihall he your Servant ^ and whofoever
Jhall exalt hirnfdf fJjall be abafed ; and he
that floall humble himfelf^ Jhall be exalted.

Luke xxi. 34. Take heed to yourjelves^
leji your Hearts be at any Time over-charged
with Surfeiting and Drunkemiefs^ and Cares
of this Life.

Luke xxii. 25. He faid unto them^ T'he
Kings of the Gentiles exercife LordfJoip over
them \ and they that exercife Authority upon
them.^ are called BenefaBors, But ye Jhall
not be fo : But he that is greateji among fi
youy let him be as the younger ^ and he that
is chief as he that doth Jerve.

John xiii. 34. A new Commandment I
give unto you., fhat ye love one another ; as
I have loved you^ that ye aljo love one an-
other': by this (loall all Men know that ye
are my Difciples., if ye love one another.
This Command of loving one another, is
repeated again Chap. xv. 12, and 17.

John xiv. 15.' If ye love me., keep my Com-
mandments. Ver. 21. He that hath my Coni-
m'wdmentSy and keepeth them^ he it is that
Joveth me ^ and he that hveth me^ Jhall be

loved

as 'delivered hi the Scriptures. \^^

loved of my Father^ and I will Jove him^ and
manifejl fnyfelf to him, Ver. 2^, If a Man
lo-veth fMy he will keep my JVords. Ver. 24,
He that loveth me noty keepeth not my Say-

1f2gS.

John XV. 8. In this is my Father glorified,
that ye bear much Fruit ; fb floall ye he my
Difciples. Ver. 14. 7d are my Friends ^ if
ye do whatfoever I command you.

Thus we lee our Saviour not only con-
firmed the moral Law, and clearing it from
the corrupt Glofles of the Scribes and
Pharifees, fhewed the Stridnefs as well as
Obligation of its Injunctions ; but more-
over, upon Occafion, requires the Obedi-
ence of his Difciples to Icvcral of the
Commands he afrelli lays upon them, with
the Enforcement of unfpeakable Rewards
and Punifhments in another World, accord-
ing to their Obedience or Difobedience.
There is not, I think, any of the Duties
of Morality, which he has not, Ibmewherc
or other, by himfelf and his Apoftles, in-
culcated over and over again to his Fol-
lov/ers in exprels Terms. And is it for
nothing, that he is fo inflant with them to
bring forth Fruit ? Does he their King
command, and is it an indifferent Thing?
Or will their Happinefs or Mifery not at
all depend upon it, whether they obey or
no ? They were required to believe him
to be the Mtfjiah 3 which Faith is of Grace
N 4 promifed

aoo fhe Reafonahknefs of Chn^imxiy^

promifed to be reckoned to them for the
compleating of their Righteoufnefs, where-
in it was defedive : But Rightcoiifnefs, or
Obedience to the Law of God, was their
great Buiinefs, which, if they could have
attained by their own Performances, there
would have been no need of this gracious
Allowance in Reward of their Faith • but
eternal Life, after the Refurredion, had
been their Due by a former Covenant, even
that of Works, the Rule whereof was ne-
ver abolifhed, though the Rigour was
abated. The Duties enjoined in it v/ere
Duties ftill : Their Obligations had never
ceafed, nor a wilful Ncgled of them was
ever difpenfed with ; but their paft Tranf-
greflions were pardoned, to thofe who re-
ceived Jefus, the promifed Mejjiah^ for
their King ; and their future Slips covered,
if, renouncing their former Iniquities, they
entered into his Kingdom, and continued
his Subjeds, w^ith a fteady Rcfolution and
Endeavour to obey his Laws. This
Righteoufnefs therefore, a compleat Obe-
dience and Freedom from Sin, are ftill fin-
cerely to be endeavoured after : And 'tis
no where promifed, that thofe who pcrfift
in a wilful Difobedience to his Laws, fhall
be received into the eternal Blifs of his
Kingdom, how much foever they believe
m him.

A

as delivered in the Scriptures. 201

A fincere Obedience, how can any one
doubt to be, or fcruple to call, a Condi-
tion of the New Covenant, as well as Faith,
whoever read our Saviour's Sermon on the
Mount, to omit all the reft ; Can any thing
be more exprefs than thefe Words of our
Lord ? Matt. vi. ^4' If you forgive Men
thm TrefpaJfeSy your heavenly Father will
alfo forgive you \ but if ye forgive not Men
their 7'refpaJJes^ neither will your Father
forgive your T'refpaJJes. And John xiii. 1 7.
If ye know theje Takings ^ happy are ye if ye
do them. This is fo indifpenfible a Condi-
tion of the New Covenant, that believing
without it, will not do, nor be accepted, if
our Saviour knew the Terms on which he
would admit Men into Life. Why call ye
me Lordj Lord., fays he, Luhe vi. 46^. and
do not the things which I Jay? It is not
enough to believe him to be the Mejjiah^ the
Lord., without obeying him : For that thefe
he fpcaks to here were Believers, is evi-
dent from the parallel Place, Matt, vii.
21—23. "where it is thus recorded; "Not
every one who fays Lord^ Lardy [hall enter
into the Kingdom of Heaven ; but he that
doth the PFill of my Fat her ^ which is in Hea-
ven, No Rebels, or refradory Difobedi-
ent, Ihall be admitted there, though they
have fo far believed in Jefus, as to be able
to do Miracles in his Name j as is plain
out of ihe following Words^ ik/^^y will fay

20% The Reafofiahknefs of Chriftianity,

to me In that Day^ Have we not prophefied
in thy ISfame^ and in thy Name have cafi out
Devils y and tn thy Name have done many
•wonderful Works ? Jlnd then will I froffs
nnto them^ I never knew you^ depart from
me^ ye Workers of Iniquity.

This Part of the New Covenant, the
Apoftles alfo, in their Preaching the Gofpel
of the MeJJiahy ordinarily joined with the
Dodrinc of Faith.

St. Peter in his firft Sermon, ABs ii.
when they were pricked in Heart, and
asked, What fhall we do ? fays, ver. 38.
KEP E NTy and be baptized every one of
you^ in the Name of Jefus Chrifi, for the
Remijfion of Sins, The fame he lays to
them again in his next Speech, Acis iv. 16.
Unto youjirf, God having raifed up his Son
Jefus^ fent him io blej's you. How was
this done? IN TURNING AWAY
EFEKT ONE FROM TOUR
INI^ITIES.

The fame Doclrine they preach to the
High-Prieft and Rulers, Acts v. 30. The
God of our Fathers raifed up Jefus^ whom
ye Jlew and hanged on a T'ree. Him hath
God exalted with his Right-hand, to be a
Prince and a Saviour for to give RE f E N-
^ANCE to Ifrael, and Forgivenefs of Sins ;
and we are Witneffes of thej'e I'hings, andfo
is alfo the Holy Ghoft, whom God hath given
to them that obey him.

Acts

as delivered in the Scriptures. 103

JSisxvn. 30. S. Paul teWs the ^thefiiamy
that now under the Gofpel God commandeth
all Men every li'here to REPE Nf.

^^Js XK. 11. St. Paul, in his laft Con-
ference with the Elders of EphefnSj profefles
to have taught them the whole Dodrine
neceflary to Salvation. / have^ fays he,
• kept bach Jiothitig that was profitable unto
you ; but have JJjewed you, at2d have taught
you publickly, and from Houfe to Houfe^
tejiifying both to the Jews and to the Greeks j
and then eives an Account what his Preach-
ing had been, viz. REPENTANCE to-
wards God, and Faith towards our Lord
Jefus the Mefjiah. This was the Sum and
Subftance of the Gofpel which St. Paul
preached, and was all that he knew necel-
fary to Salvation, viz. Repentance , and be-
lieving Jefus to be the -Meffiah \ and io
takes his laft Farewel of them, whom he
Ihould never fee again, ver. 32. in thefe
Words, Jnd now. Brethren, 1 commend you
to God, and to the Word of his Grace, which
is able to build you up, and to give you an
Inheritance among all them that ars fanfii-
jied. There is an Inheritance conveyed by
the Word and Covenant of Grace, but it
is only to thofe who -^ncjant^ifed.

yi^s xxiv. 24. IFhen Felix fent for
Paul, that he and his Wife Drujtlla might
hear him concerning the Faith in Ch,ijl,
Paul reafoned of Right eoufnefs, or Juftice,

and

204 "^he Reafonablenejs of Chrlftianity,

and temperance \ the Duties we owe to
others, and to ourfelves, and of the Judg-
ment to come ; till he made Felix to trem-
ble. Whereby it appears, that 7'emperance
and Jufiice were fundamental Parts of the
Religion that ^aul profeflcd, and were
contained in the Faith which he preached.
And if wc find the Duties of the moral
Law not prefled by him every where, we
muft remember, that moll of his Sermons
left upon Record, were preached in their
Synagogues to the Jews^ who acknow-
ledged their Obedience due to all the Pre-
cepts of the Law, and would have taken
it amifs to have been fufpecled not to have
been more zealous for the Law than he :
And therefore it was with Reafon that his
Difcourfes were directed chiefly to what
they yet v*'anted, and were averfe to, the
Knowledge and imbracing of Jefus their
promifcd Mejjiah. But w^hat his Preaching
generally was, if we wall believe him him-
lelf, we may fee Acis xxvi. where giving
an Account to King Jgrtppa of his Life
and Do6lrine, he tells him, ver. 20. /
Jfjewed unto them at Damafcus, and at Je-
rufalem, and throughout all the Coafls of
Judea, and then to the Gentiles^ that they
fhoald repent and turn to God, and do fVorks
file et for Repentance,

Thus

as delivered in the Scriptures. 105

Thus we fee, by the Preaching of our
Saviour and his Apoftles, that he required
of thofe who believed him to be the Mef-
Jtah, and received him for their Lord and
Deliverer, that they fhould live by his
Laws ; and that (though in Confideration
of their becoming his Subjeds, by Faith
in him, whereby they believed and took
him to be the MeJJiah^ their former Sins
Ihould be forgiven) yet he would own
none to be his, nor receive them as true
Dcnizons of the Is^ew J-erufakm^ into the
Inheritance of eternal Life, but leave them
to the Condemnation of the Unrighteous,
who renounced not their former Mifcar-
riages, and lived in a fincere Obedience to
his Commands. What he expeds from his
Follovv^ers, he has fufficiently declared as
a Legiflator. And that they may not be
deceived, by miftaking the Doctrine of
Faith, Grace, Free-Grace, and the Pardon
and Forgivenefs of Sins and Salvation by
.him, (which was the great End of his
Coming) he more than once declares to
them, for what Omiilions and Mifcarriages
he fhall judge and condemn to Death, even
thofe who have owned him, and done Mi-
racles in his Name, when he comes at laft
to render to every one according to what
he had DONE in the Flelh, fitting upon
his Great and Glorious Tribunal, at the
End of the World.

The

!io6 7' he Reafonahlenefs <9/'ChriftIanity,

The iirft Place where we find our Sa-
viour to have mentioned the Day of judg-
ment, is Johi V. 28, ip. in thefe Words ;
^ke Hour is comings in which all that are
hi their Graves jh all hear his [/. e. the Son
of God's] Voice ^ a?id jhall come forth \ they
that have DONE GOO Dy unto the Re-
furreBion of Lije ; and they that have
DONE EVIL, unto the Refwreciion of
Damnation. That which puts the Diftin-
dion, if we will believe our Saviour, is
the having done Good or Evil. And he
gives a Reafon of the Neceility of his
judging or condemning thofe who have done
Evily in the following Words, ver. 30. /
can of my own felf ds 7io thing. Jls I hear
I judge, and my Judgment is jujl ; hecaufe I
feek not my own Will, but the Will of my
Father who hath fent me. He could not
judge of himfelf ; he had but a delegated
Power of judging from the Father, whole
Will he obeyed in it, and who was of purer
Eyes than to admit any unjuft Perfon into
the Kin2;dom of Heaven.

Matt. vii. 2 2, 23. Speaking again of
that Day, he tells what his Sentence will
be. Depart from me, ye BORKERS of
Iniquity. Faith, in the Penitent and fin-
cerely Obedient, fupplles the Defect of their
Performances, and lo by Grace they are
made Jufl. But we may obferve, none are
fentenced or punilhed for Unbelief, but

only

as delivered in the Scriptures. 207

only for their Mifdeeds. They are fforkers
of Iniquity on whom the Sentence is pro-
nounced.

Matt. xiii. 14. jit the End of the fVorldy

the Son of Man fhall find forth his Angels,
and they fJj all gather oat of his Kingdom all
Scandals^ and them which D O JNIj^Ul-
7'Ty and cafi them into a Furnace of F'ire ;
there Jhall he JVailing and Gnafhing of I'eeth,
And again, ver, 45). The Angels f jail fever
the WICKED from ammg the JUSf, and
foall caft them into the Furnace of Fire.

Matt. xvi. 24. Fur the Son of Man pall
cotne in the Glory of his Father^ with his
Angels, and then he fhall reward every Man
according to his WORKS.

Luke xiii. 16. Then f jail ye begin to fay ^
JVe have eaten and drunk in thy Prejence^
and thou haft taught in our Streets. But
he foall Jay^ I tell you^ I know you not :
Depart from me, ye WORKERS of
Iniquity.

Matt. XXV. 24—2^. When the Son of Man
fall come in his Glory, and before him fall
be gathered all Nations, he fall ft the
Sheep on bis Right-hand, and the Goats on
his Left : 'Then Jhall the King fey to them
on his Right-hand, Come, ye bkffed of my
Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for
you from the Foundation of the World ^ For
I was an hungred^ and ye gave me Meat ; I
was thirfy, and ye gave me Drink j / was

a

noS I'he Reafonahknefs of Ghriftianity,

a Stranger y and ye took me in ; Naked, and
ye chat bed me ; / was Jrck, and ye vifited
me ; / was in Prifon, and ye came mto me,
^henjhall the Righteous anjwer him, faying^
Lord, When faw we thee an hungred, and
fed thee ? &c. And the King jhall anfwer^
and fay unto the?n, Verily, I fay unto you,
inajmuch.as ye have done it unto one of the
leafi of thefe my Brethren, ye have done it
unto me, I'henfall he fay unto them on the
Left-hand, Depart from me, ye Curfed, into
everla/iitig Fire, prepared for the Devil and
his Angels : For I was an hungred, and ye
gave me no Meat ; I was tbirjiy, and ye gave
me no Drink ; / was a Stranger, and ye took
me not in \ Naked, and ye cloathed me not ;
Sick and in '^rifon, and ye vifted me not.
Infotnuch that ye did it not to one of thefe,
ye did it not to me. And thefe fly all go into
ever la fling Punifhment \ hut the Righteous
into Life eternal,

Thefe, I think, are all the Places where
our Saviour mentions the laft Judgment, or
defcribes his Way of Proceeding in that
Great Day ; wherein, as we have obferved,
it is remarkable, that every where the Sen-
tence follows Doing or not Doing, w^ithout
any mention of Believing, or not Believ-
ing. Not that any to whom the Gofpel
hath been preached fliall be laved, without
believing jefus to be xX\q Mefjuih -^ for all
being Sinners, and Tranfgreflbrs of the

Law,

as delivered in the Scriptures. iq()

Law, and fo unjuft, are all liable to Con-
demnation, iinlefs they believe, and ib
through Grace are juftihed by God for this
Faith, which fliall be accounted to them
for Righteoufnefs : But the reft wanting
this Cover, this Allowance for their Tranl-
greffions, muft anfwer for all their Actions •
and being found TranfgrefTors of the Law,
fhall, by the Letter and Sandion of that
Law, be condemned, for not having paid
a full Obedience to that Law, and not for
want of Faith ; that is not the Guilt on
which the Punifhment is laid, tho' it be the
want of Faith which lays open their Guilt
uncovered, and expofes them to the Sentence
of the Law againft all that are Unrighteous.
The common Objection here, is, If all
Sinners fhall be condemned, but fuch as
have a gracious Allowance made them, and
fo are juftified by God for believing Jefus
to be the Mejjiah^ and fo taking him for
their King, whom they are refolved to
obey to the utmoft of their Power, What
fhall become of all Mankind who lived be-
fore our Saviour's Time, who never heard
of his Name, and confequently could not
believe in him ? To this the Anfwer is fo
obvious and natural, that one would won-
der how any reafonable Man fhould think
it worth the urging. Nobody was, or caix
be* required to believe what was never
propofed to him to believe. Before the

O Ful-

2. 1 o fhe Reafonahknefs of Chriftianity,

Fulnefs of Time, which God from the
Council of his own Wifdom had appointed
to fend his Son in, he had at fcveral Times,
and in different Manners, promifed to the
People of IJrael 2in extraordinary Perfbn to
come, who, raifed from amongft them-
felves, fhould be their Ruler and Deliverer.
The Time, and other Circumftances of his
•Birth, Life, and Perfon, he had in fundry
Prophefies fo particularly defcribed, and lb
plainly foretold, that he was well known
and expected by the yews^ under the Name
of the Mefjiah^ or Anointed, given him in
fome of thefe Prophefies. All then that
was. required before his appearing in the
World, was, To believe what God had re-
vealed, and to rely with a full AfTurance
on God for the Performance of his Pro-
mife ; and to believe, that in due Time he
would fend them the Mejftah^ this anointed
King, this promifed Saviour and Deliverer,
according to his Word. This Faith in the
Promifes of God, this Relying and Acqui-
efcing in his Word and Faithfulnefs, the
Almighty takes well at our Hands, as a
great Mark of Homage, paid by us frail
Creatures, to his ' Goodjiefs and Truth, as
well as to his Power and iVifdom \ and ac-
cepts it as an Acknowledgment of his pe-
culiar Providence and Benignity to us. And
therefore our Saviour tells us, John xii. 44.
He that believes on me, believes not on ?ne^

but

as dellzfered in the Scriptures. 2 1 1

hat on him that fint me. The Works of
Nature ihew his Wifdom and Power ; but 'tis
his pccuhar Care of Mankind, moft emi-
nently diicovered in his Proniiles to them,
that fhevvs his Bounty and Goodnefs ; and
conlequently engages their Hearts in Love
and Affection to him. This Oblation of '
an Heart fixed with Dependance on, and Af-
fection to him, is the moft acceptable Tri-
bute we can pay him ; the Foundation of
true Devotion, and Life of all Religion.
What a Value he puts on this depending on
his Word, and refting fatisfied in his Pro*
mifes, we have an Example in Abraham,
whofe Faith was counted to h'unjor Righte-
oujnefsy as we have before remarked out of
Rom. iv. And his Relying firmly on the
Promife of God, without any Doubt of its
Performance, gave him the Name of the
Father of the Faithful, and gained him ^o
much Favour with the Almighty, that he
was called the Friend of God ; the higheft
and moft glorious Title can be beftowed on a
Creature. The Thing promifed was no more
but a Son by his Wife Sarah, and a numerous
Pofterity by him, which fi^ould poflels the
Land of Canaan. Thefc were but temporal
Bleffings, and (except the Birth of a Son)
very remote, fuch as he fliould never live to
fee, nor, in his ownPerfon, have the Benefit
of; but becaiife he queftioned not the Per-
formance of it, but refted fully fatisfied in
O a the

1 1 2 The Reafonahknefs of Chriftiariity,

the Goodncfs, Truth, and Faithfulnefs of
God who had promifed, it was counted to
him for Righteoufnefs. Let us fee how St.
faiil exprefTes it, Rom. iv. 18—22. Who^
cfgahijl Hope., believed in Hope.^ that he might
. become the Father of many Nations ; accord-
ing to that which was fpohen., fo Jhall thy
Seed be : Jnd being not weak in his Faith^
he conjidered not his own Body now dead,
when he was above an hundred Tears old ;
neither yet the Deadnefs of Sarah*j JVofnb :
He flaggered not at the fromife of God
through Unbelief but was Jirong in Fait by
giving Glory to God ; and being fully per-
fnaded., that what he had promifed he was
able to perform: And THEREFORP:
it was imputed to him for Righteoufnefs.
St. Paul having here emphatically dcfcribed
the Strength and Firmnefs of Abraham's
Faith, informs us, that he thereby gave
Glory to Godj and therefore it was accounted
to him for Right eonfiiefs. This is the Way
that God deals with poor frail Mortals. He
is gracioufly pleafed to take it well of
them, and give it the Place of Righteouf-
nefs, and a kind of Merit in his Sight, if
they believe his Promifcs, and have a fted-
faft relying on his Veracity and Goodnels.
St. '^aiily fleb. xi. 6, tells us, Without Faith
it is impojlble to pleafe God: But at the
fame time tells us what Faith that is. For^
fays he, He that comet h to God^ mufl be-
lieve

as delivered in the Scriptures. 213

lieve that he is ; and that he is a Rezvarder
of them that diligently feek him. He muft
be perfuaded of God's Mercy and good
Will to thofe who feek to obey him, and
reft aflTured of his rewarding thofe who
rely on him, for whatever, either by the
Light of Nature, or particular Promifes,
he has revealed to them of his tender Mer-
cies, and taught them to exped from his
Bounty. This Defcription of Faith (that
we might not miftake what" he means by
that Faith without which we cannot plcafe
God, and which recommended the Saints
of Old) St. Paul places in the middle of
the Lift of thofe who were eminent for
their Faith^ and whom he fets as Patterns
to the converted Hebrews under Peffccu-
tion, to encourage them to perfift in their
Confidence of Deliverance by the Coming
ol Jefus ChyiJ}^ and in their Belief of the
Promifes they now had under the Gofpel :
By thofe Examples he exhorts them not
to draw back from the Hope that was fet
before them, nor apoftatize from the Pro-
felTion of the Chriftian Religion, This is
plain from ver. 35—38. of the precedent
Chapter : Ca[i not away therefore your Con^
fdence^ which hath great Recompence of
R.eward. For ye have great need oj Per ft fl-
ings or Perfeverance (for fo the Greek
Word fignines here, which our Tranflation
renders Patience, vide Lake viii. 1 5,) f'hat
O 3 . after

214 ^he Reajbnahlenefs o/^Chriftianity,

after ye have done the Will of God^ ye might
fecetve the 1?rom]fe. For yet a little whiky
and he that f jail come^ will come^ and will not
tarry. Now the Jufl fhall live by Faith,
But if any Man draw back, my Soal fiall
have no ^leajiire In htm.

The Examples of Faith which St. ^aul
enumerates and propofes in the following
Words, chap, xi, plainly jfhew, that the
Faith whereby thofe Believers of old
pleafed God, was nothing but a ftedfaft
Reliance on the Goodnefs and Faithfulnefs
of God, for thofe good Things, which
either the Light of Nature, or particular
Promifes, had given them Grounds to hope
for. Of what avail this Faith was with
God, 'we may lee, ver. 4. By Faith Abel
offered unto God a more excellent Sacrifice
than Cain ; by which he obtained Witnefs
that he was Righteous. Ver. 5. By Faith
Enoch was tranjlated, that he Jhotild not fee
Death: For before his ^ranjlation he had
this ^cflimony, that he pleafed God. Ver.
y. Noah, being warned of God of Things not
feen as yet ; being wary, by Faith prepared
an Jlrhy to the faving of his Houfe \ by the
which he condemned the World, and became
Hell' of the Right eotifnefs which is by Faith,
And what it wUs that God fo gracioufly
accepted and rewarded, we are told, ver,
1 1 , "fbwugh Faith alfo Sarah herjelf re^
ceived Strength to conceive Seedy and was

delivered

US delivered In /-^^ Scriptures. 215

delivered of a Child^ when ffje was pa ft y4ge.
How fhe came to obtain this Grace from
God, the Apodle tells us ; Becanje fhe
judged htm Faithful who had fromij'ed,
Thofe therefore who plcafed God, and
were accepted by him before the Coming
of Chrift, did it only by beUeving the
Promifes, and relying on the Goodnefs of
God, as far as he had revealed it to them.
For the Apoftle, in the following Words,
tells us, ver. 13. 'Thefe all died in Faith^ not
having received (the Accomplilliment of)
the Promifes ; hut having fen them afar off':
And were perfuaded of thejn^ and embraced
them. This was all that was required of
them to be perfuaded of, and embrace the
Promifes which they had. They could be
perfuaded of no more than was propofed to
them ; embrace no more than was revealed,
according to the Promifes they had re-
ceived, and the Difpenfations they were
under. And if the Faith of Things y^£?»
afar off\ if their trufting in God for the
Promifes he then gave them ; if a Belief of
the Mefftah to come, were fufficient to
render thole who lived in the JVges before
Chriil, acceptable to God, and righteous
before him, 1 defire thofe who tell us, that
God will not (nay, fome go fo far as to
fliy) cannot accept any who do not believe
every Article of their particular Creeds and
Syilems, to confider, why God, out of his
O 4 in-

2 16 T'he Reafonahknejs of Chriftianity,

infinite Mercy, cannot as well juftify Man
now for believing ^e/us of Nazareth to be
the promiied Mejjiah^ the King and De-
liverer, as thofe heretofore, who believed
only that God would, according to his
Promife, in due time, fend the Mejfiah to
be a King and Deliverer ?

There is another Difficulty often to be
met with, which feems to have fomething
of more Weight in it ;" and that is, that tho'
the Faith oi thofe before Chrift (believing
that God would fend the Mejjiah^ to be a
Prince, and a Saviour to his People, as he
had promifed) and the Faith of thofe
Iince his Time (believing Jefus to be that
Mefjlah^ promifed and fent by God) ihall
be accounted to them for Righteoufnefs ;
yet what fhall become of all the reft of
Mankind, who having never heard of the
Promife or News of a Saviour, not a Word
of a Meffiah to be fent, or that was come,
have had no Thought or Belief concerning
him ?

To this I anfwer. That God will require
of every Man, According to what he hath^
and not according to ivhat he hath not. He
will not expect ten Talents where he gave
but one ; nor require any one Ihould be-
lieve a Promife,' of which he has never
heard. The Apoftle's Reafoning, Rom.
K. 14. is very Juft : How f^all they hel'ieve
hi him, of whom they have not heard ? But

though

ds delivered in the Scriptures. 217

though there be many, who being Stran-
gers to the Commonwealth of Ifrael^ were
alio Strangers to the Oracles of God com-
mitted to that People ; many, to whom the
Prorhife of the Mejjiah never came, and lb
were never in a Capacity to believe or re-
ject that Revelation ; yet God had, by the
Light of Reafon, revealed to all Mankind,
who would make ufe of that Light, that
he was Good and Merciful. 1 he fame
Spark of the Divine Nature and Knowledge
in Man, which making him a Man, fhewed
him the Law he was under as a Man ;
fhewed him alio the Way of atoning the
merciful, kind, companionate Author and
Father of him and his Being, when he had
tranfgrefTed that Law. He that made ufe
of this Candle of the Lord, fo far as to find
what was his Duty, could not mifs to find
alfothe Way to Reconciliation and Forgive-
nefs, when lie had failed of his Duty ; tho*
if he ufed not his Reafon this way, if he
put out, or neglected this Light, he might,
perhaps, fee neither.

The Law is the eternal, immutable
Standard of Right. And a Part of that
Law is, that a Man fiiould forgive, not
only his Children, but his Enemies, upon
their Repentance, asking Pardon, and
Amendment. And therefore he could not
doubt that the Author of this Law, and
God of Patience and Confolation, who is

■ rich

21 8 The Reafonahlenefs ty^Chriftianity,

rich in Mercy, would forgive his frail OiF-
fpring, if they acknowledged their Faults,
difapproved the Iniquity of their Tranf-
greilions, begged his Pardon, and refolved
in earnefl for the Future to conform their
Actions to this Rule, which they owned
robe Juft and Right. This Way of Re-
conciliation, this Hope of Atonement, the
Light of Nature revealed to them. And
the Revelation of the Gofpel having faid
nothing to the contrary, leaves them to
ftand and fall to their own Father and
Mailer, whofe Goodnefs and Mercy is over
all his Works.

I know fome are forward to urge that
Place of the A^Sy chap. iv. as contrary to
this. The Words, ver. lo, and 12. ftand
thus : Be it known unto you all., and to all
the People of Ifrael, that by the Name of
Jefus Chrift ^Nazareth, zvhomye crucified^
whom God ralfedfrom the Dead., even' by
him doth this Man [/. e. the Lame Man
reftored by ^Teter^ Jland here before you
whole, T'his is the Stone which is fet at
fiow^ht by you Builders., which is become the
Head of the Corner. Neither is there Sal-
vation in any other : For there is none other
Name under Heaven given among Men., in
which we mufl be five d. Which, in Ihort,
is, that Jefus is the only true Meffiah'.,
neither is there any other Perfon but He,
given to be a. Mediator between God and

Man,

as delivered in the Scriptures. 210

Man, in whofe Name we may ask and
hope for Salvation.

It will here pofTibly be asked, ^lorjum
ferdit'w hcec ? What need was there of a
Saviour ? What Advantage have we by
Jefus Chr'ift ?

It is enough to juftify the Fitnefs of any
Thing to be done, by refblving it into the
Wtfdom of Gody who has done it, though
our Ihort Views, and narrow Underftand-
ings, may utterly incapacitate us to fee
that Wifdom, and to judge rightly of it.
We know little of this vifible, and nothing
at all of the State of that intelledual World,
wherein are infinite Numbers and Degrees
of Spirits out of the Reach of our Ken or
Guels ; and therefore know not what
Tranfactions there were between God and
our Saviour, in reference to his Kingdom.
We know not what need there was to fet up
a Head and a Chieftain, in Oppofition to
the Prince of this World^ the Prince of the
Power of the Jir^ &^c- whereof there are
more than obfcure Intimations in Scripture.
And we fhall take too much upon us, if
we fhall call God's Wifdom or Providence
to account, and pertly condemn for need-
lefs, all that our weak, and, perhaps,
bialfed Underf^andings^ cannot account for.

Though this general Anfwer be Reply
enough to the forementioned Demand, and
luch as a Rational Man, or fair Searcher

after

a20 7 he Keafonahknefs <?/"Chriftianity,

after Truth, will acquiefce In ; yet in this
particular Cafe, the Wifdom and Goodnefs
of God has Ihewn itfelf fo vifibly to com-
mon Apprehenilohs, that it hath furnilhed us
abundantly wherewithal to fatisfy the Cu-
rious and Inquifitive; who will not take
a Blcfling, unlefs they be inftruded what
need they had of it, and why it was be-
llowed upon them. The great and many Ad-
vantages we receive by the Coming of Jefiis
xh^Meffiah^ will fliew, that it was not with-
out need that he was fent into the World.

The Evidence of our Saviour's MiJJion
from Heaven is fo great, in the Multitude
of Miracles he did before all Sorts of People,
that what he delivered cannot but be re^
ceived as the Oracles of God, and unque-
ftionable Verity ; for the Miracles he did
were fo ordered by the Diviae Providence
and Wifdom, that they never were, nor
could be denied by any of the Enemies or
Oppofers of Chriftianity.

Though the Works of Nature, in every
Part of them, fufficiently evidence a Deity,
yet the World made fo little ufe of their
Reafon, that they faw him not, where
even by the Impreilions of himfelf he was
eafy to be found, ^^^i'i and Lull blinded
their Minds in fome, and a carelefs Inad-^
vertency in others, and fearful Apprehen-
fions in moft (who either believed there
were, or could not but fufpecl there might

bcj

#?i delivered in the Scriptures. 221

be, Superior unknown Beings) gave them

up into the Hands of their Priefts, to fill

their Heads with falfe Notions of the Deity,

and their Worfhip with foolifh Rites, as

they pleafed ; and what Dread or Crafc

once began, Devotion foon made Sacred,

and Religion immutable. In this State of

Darknefs and Ignorance of the true God,

Vice and Superftition held the World ; nor

could any Help be had or hoped for from

Reafon^ which could not be heard, and was

judged to have nothing to do in the Cafe :

The Priefts every where, to fee u re their

Empire, having excluded Reafon from

having any thing to do in Religion. And

in the Crowd of wrong Notions, and invented

Rites, the World had almoft loft the Sight

of the One only True God. Ihe rational

and thinking Part of Mankind, 'tis true,

when they fought after him, found the

One, Supreme, Invifible God : But if they

acknowledged and worftiipped him, it was

only in their own Minds. They kept this

Truth locked up in their own Breafts as a

Secret, nor ever durft venture it amongft

the People, much lefs the Priefts, thofe

wary Guardians of their own Creeds and

profitable Inventions: Hence we fee that

Reafon^ fpeaking never fo clearly to the

Wife and Virtuous, had never Authority

enough to prevail on the Multitude, and

to perfuadc the Societies of Men, that there

was

i%i The Reafoimhknefs of 0^n^\2ixi\ij ^

was but One God, that alone was to be
owned and worfhipped. The Belief and
Worfhip of One God, was the National Re-
ligion of the Ifraelites alone ; and, if Vv^e will
confider it, it was introduced and fupported
amongil that People by Revelation, They
were in Gopen, and had Light, whilft the
reft of the World were in almoft Egyptian
Darknefs, without God in the World, There
was no Part of Mankind, who had quicker
Parts, or improved them more ; that had
a greater Light of Realbn, or followed it
farther in all Sorts of Speculations, than
the Athenians^ and yet we find but one 6(9-
crates amongft them, that oppofed and
laughed at their Polytheifms, and wrong
Opinions of the Deity ; and we fee how
they rewarded him for it. Whatfoever
Plato^ and the fobereft of the Philofophers
thought of the Nature and Being of the
One God, they were fain, in their out-
ward Worfhip, to go with the Herd, and
keep to the Religion eftablilhed by Law ;
which what it was, and how it had difpofed
the Mind of thefe kowing and quick-fighted
Grecians^ ^l. Paul tells us, A^h xvii.
11— 1<). Te Men ^Athens, fays he, I per-
ceive that in all Things ye are too Super fiitious.
For as TpaJJed hy^ and beheld your Devotion Sy
I found an Altar with this Infcription^ TO
I' HE UNKNOffN GOD. Whom
therefore ye ignorantly worjl.np^ him declare

I

as delivered in the Scriptures. 223

/ unto you. God that made the Worlds and
all 'things therein^ feeing that he is Lord of
Heaven and Earthy dwelkth not in I'eniples
made "joith Hands : Neither is worfjipped
with Men's Hands, as though he needed any
'Things feeing he ^iveth unto all Life, and
Breath, and all things \ And hath made of
one Blood all the 'Nations of Men, for to dwell
on the Face of the Earth ; And hath deter ^
mined the Times before appointed, and the '
Bounds of their Habitations ', fhat theyfiould
ftek the Lord, if haply they might feel him
out, and fnd him, though he be not far from
every one of us. Here he tells" the Athenians,
that they, and the reft of the World (given
up to Superftition) whatever Light there
was in the Works of Creation and Provi-
dence, to lead them to the true God, yet
they few of them found him. He was every
where near them ; yet they were but like
People groping and feeling for fomething
in the Dark, and did not lee him with a
full clear Day-light ; But thought the God-
head like to Gold, and Silver, and Stone,
graven by Art and Man's Device.

In this State of Darkncfs and Error, in
reference to the True God, our Saviour
found the World. But the clear Revelation
he brought with him, difTipated this Dark-
nefs ; made the. One Invifibk True God
known to the World : And that with fuch
Evidence and Energy, that Polytheifm and

Idolatry

2 24 ^-^^ Reajoiiablemfs o/^Chriftianity,

Idolatry hath no where been able to with-
ftand it. But where-ever the Preaching of
the Truth he delivcr'd, and the Light of
the Gofpel hath come, thofe Mifts have
been difpelled. And, in Effed, we, fee that
fince our Saviour's Time, tht Belief of One .
God has prevailed and Ipread itlelf over
the Face of the Earth. For even to the
Light that the Mefjiah brought into the
'World with him, we muft afcribe the Own-
ing, and Profellion o'i.One God^ which the
Mahometan Religion hath derived and bor-
rowed from it. So that, in this Senfe, it is
certainly and manifeftly true of our Saviour,
what St. J-ohn fays of him, i yohn iii. 8.
For this Puypofe the Son of God was mani-
feffedy that he might deftroy the B^orks of
the, Devil. This Light the World needed,
and this Light it received from him. That
there is but One Gody and he Eternal^ hivi'
fible ; Not like to any vilible Objeds, nor
to be reprefented by them.

If it be asked, whether the Revelation
to the Patriarchs by Mofes^ did not teach
this, and why that was not enough ? The
Anfwer is obvious ; That however clearly
the Knowledge of One Invifible God, Maker
of Heaven and Earth, was revealed to them ;
Yet that Revelation was ihut up in a little
Corner of the World,, amongft a People,
by that very Law, which they received
with it, excluded from a Commerce and

Comma-

as delivered in the Scriptures, 1:25

Communication with the reft of Mankind.
The Gentile World, in our Saviour's Timc^
and feveral Ages before, could have no At-
teftation of the Miracles, on which the He-
hrews built their Faith, but from the Jews
themfelves, a People not known to the
greateft Part of Mankind, contemned and
thought vilely of by thofe Nations that
did know them \ and therefore very unfit
and unable to propagate the Dodrine of
One God in the World, and difFufe it thro'
the Nations of the Earth, by the Strength
and Force of that ancient Revelation, upon
which they had received it. But our Savi-
our, when he came, threw down this Wail
of Partition, and did not confine his Mira-
cles or MefTage to the Land of Canaan^ or
the Worfhippers at Jenilalem j but he him-
felf preached at Samar'ta^ and did Miracles
in the Borders of ^yre and Sidon^ and be-
fore Multitudes of People gathered from all
Quarters. And after his Rcfurredion, fent
his Apoftles amongft the Nations, accompa-
nied with Miracles, which were done in all
Parts fo frequently, and before fb many
WitnelTes of all Sorts, in Broad Day-light,
that, as I have before oblerved, the Ene-
mies of Chriftianity have never dared to
deny them ; No, not Julian himfelf, who
neither wanted Skill nor Power to enquire
into the Truth, nor would have failed to
have proclaimed and expofed it, if he could
P have

1^0.6 f*he Reafonahlenefs c/^Chriftianity,

have dcteded any Falfhood in the Hiftory
of the Gofpel, or found the leaft Ground
to queition the Ma;:ter of Facl publifhed of
Chrift, and his Apoftles. The Number and
Evidence of the Miracles done by our Sa-
viour and his Followers, by the Power and
Force of Truth, bore down this mighty and
accomplifh'd Emperor, and all his Parts,
in his own Dominions. He durft not deny
fo plain Matter of Fad ; which being grant-
ed, the Truth of our Saviour's Dodrine and
Million unavoidably follows^ notwithftand-
ing whatfoever artful Suggeftions his Wit
could invent, or Malice ihould offer, to the
contrary.

2. Next to the Knowledge of one God,
Maker of all Things, a clear Knowledge oj'
their Duty was wanting to Mankind. This
Part of Knowledge, tho* cultivated with
fome Care, by fome of the Heathen Philo-
fophers, yet got little Footing among the
People. All Men indeed, under Pain of
difpleafing the Gods, were to frequent the
Temples, every one went to their Sacrifices
and Services \ but the Priefts made it not
their Bufinefs to teach them Virtue. If they
were diligent in their Obfervations and Ce-
remonies, pundual in their Feafts and So-
lemnities, and the Tricks of Religion, the
holy Tribe afTured them, the Gods were
pleafed ; and they looked no farther. Few
went to the Schools of th^ Philofophers, to

be

as delivered in the Scriptures. 227

be inftruded in their Duties, and to know
what was Good and Evil in their Adion.
The Prieits fold the better Penny-worths,
and- therefore had all their Cuftom. Luftra-
tions and Proceflions were much eafier than
a clean Confcience, and a fteady Courfe of
Virtue ; and an expiatory Sacrifice, that
attoned for the Want of it, was much more
convenient, than a flrid and holy Life. No
Wonder then, that Religion was every
where diftinguilh'd from, and preferred to
Virtue^ and that it was dangerous Hercfy
and Prophanenefs to think the contrary.
So much Vtrtiie as was neceffary to hold
Societies together, and to contribute to the
Quiet of Governments, the Civil Laws of
Common- wealths taught, and forced upon
Men that liv'd under Magiftrates. But thefe
Laws, being for the moft Part made by fuch
who had no other Aims but their own
Power, reached no farther than thofe Things,
that would ferve to tie Men together in Sub-
jedion ; or at moft, were directly to con-
duce to the Profperity and Temporal Hap-
pinefs of any People. But Natural Religion ^
in its full Extent, was no where, that I
know, taken Care of by the Force of natu-
ral Reafon. It fhould fcem, by the little
that has hitherto been done in it, that 'tis
too hard a Task for unaflifted Reafon, to
eftablifh Morality, in all its Parts, upon its
true Foundations, with a clear and con-
P % yincing

liS The Reafamhlenefs of Chriftianlty,

vincing Light. And 'tis at leaft a furer and
Ihorter Way, to the Apprehenfions of the
Vulgar, and Mafs of Mankind, that one
manifcftly fent from God, and coming with
vifible Authority from him, fhould, as a
King and Law-maker, tell them their Du-
ties, and require their Obedience, than leave
it to the long, and fometimes intricate De-
du6lions of Reafon, to be made out to
them : Such Strains of Reafonings the great-
eft Part of Mankind have neither Leifurc
to weigh, nor, for Want of Education and
Ufe, Skill to judge of. We fee how un-
fuccefsful in this, the Attempts of Philofo-
phers were, before our Saviour's Time.
How ihort their feveral Syftems came of
the Perfe6lion of a true and compleat Mora-
Tity^ is very vifible. And if, fince that,
the Chriftian Philofophers have much out-
done them, yet we may obferve, that the
firft Knowledge of the Truths they have
added, are owing to Pvcvelation \ though
as foon as they are heard and confidered,
they are found to be agreeable to Reafon,
and fuch as can by no Means be contra-
dicted. Every one may obferve a great
many Truths which he receives at firft
from others, and readily aflents to, as con-
Ibnant to Realbn,- which he would have
found it hard, and perhaps, beyond his
Strength to have difcovered himfelf. Na-
tive and Original Truth, is not fo eafily

wrought

as delivered in the Scriptures. 11^

wrought out of the Mine, as we who have
it delivered, ready dug and faftiion'd into
our Hands, are apt to imagine. And how
often at Fifty or Threefcore Years old, are
thinking Men told, what they wonder how
they could mifs thinking of? Which yet
their own Contemplations did not, and pol^
fibly never would have helped them to.
Experience Ihews that the Knowledge of
Morality, by meer natural Light, (how a-
greeable focver it be to it) makes but a flow
Progrefs, and little Advance in the World.
And the Reafon of it is not hard to be found
in Men's Neceffities, Paffions, Vices, and
miftaken Interefts, which turn their
Thoughts another Way. And the defign-
ing Leaders, as well as the following Herd,
find it not to their Purpafe to employ much
of their Meditations this W^ay. Or what-
ever elfe was the Caufe, 'tis plain in Fad,
that Human Reafon unafTilled, failed Men
in its great and proper Bufinefs o^ Morality.
It never, from unqueftionable Principles,
by clear Dcdudions, made out an entire
Body of the Law of Nature. And he that
ihall colled all the Moral Rules of the Phi-
lofophers, and compare them with thole
contained in the New Tcftament, will find
them to come ihort of the Morality deli-
vered by our Saviour, and taught by his
Apoffcles : A College made up for the moil
Part, of ignorant, but infpired Fifhermen.
P 3 Ihougb

1^0 The Reafonahlenefs o^ Chriftianity,

Though yet, if any one fhould think,
that, out of the Sayings of the Wife Hea-
thens, before our Saviour's Time, there
might be a Colledion made of all thofe
Rules of Moraliit;'^ which are to be found
in the Chriftian Religion ; Yet this would
not at all hinder, but that the World never-
thelefs flood as much in Need of our Savi^
our, and the Morality delivered by him.
Let it be granted (though not true) that
all the Moral Precepts of the Gofpel were
known by fome Body or other, amongft
Mankind, before. But where, or how, or of
what Ufc, is not confidered. Suppofe they
maybe pickt up here and there; Some from
Solon ixndBias iuGreecCy Others fwmT'ul/y
in Itafy ; And, to compleat the Work, let
Confucius^ as far at Ch'ina^ be confulted ;
And Anacharjis the Scythian contribute his
Share. W^hat will all this do, to give the
World a compleat Morality^ that may be to
Mankind, the unqueftionable Rule of Life
and Manners ? I will not here urge the Im-
poffibility of coUeding from Men, fo far
diftant from one another, in Time, and
Place, and Languages. I will fuppofe there
was a Stoh^us in thofe Times, who had ga-
thered xh^ Moral Sayings ^lom. all the Sages
of the World. W^hat would this amount
to, towards being a fteady Rule, a certain
Tranfcript of a Law that we are under?
Did the Saying of jlr'ijli^piis^ or Confucius^

give

as delivered in ^^^ Scriptures. 231

give it an Authority ? Was Zeno a Law-
giver to Mankind ? If not, what he or any
other Philofopher delivered, was but a Say-
ing of his. Mankind might hearken to it
or rejed it, as they pleafed, or as it fuited
their Intereft, Paflions, Principles or Hu-
mours : They were under no Obligation ;
The Opinion of this or that Philofopher,
was of no Authority : And if it were, you
muft take all he faid under the fame Cha-
racter. All his Didatcs muft go for Law,
certain and true, or none of them. And then,
if you will take any of the Moral Sayings of
Epictiriis (many whereof^^w^^ quotes, with
Efteem and Approbation) for Precepts of
the Law of Nature^ you muft take all the
reft of his Dodrine for fuch too, or elfe his
Authority ceafes : And fo no more is to be
received from him, or any of the Sages of
old, forVdixUofxhQ Law of Nature^ as car-
rying with it an Obligation to be obey'd,
but what they prove to be fb. But fuch a
Body of Etbicksy proved to be the Law of
Nature, from Principles of Reafon, and
reaching all the Duties of Life, I think no
Body will fay the World had before our
Saviour's Time. 'Tis not enough, that there
were up and down fcattered Sayings of wile
Men, conformable to right Reafon. The
Law of Nature, was the Law of Conveni-
ence too ; And 'tis no Wonder that thofe
Men of Parts, and ftudious of Virtue, (who
P 4 had

13 2 T'he ReafonahJemfs of Chriflianity,

had Occafion to think on any particular
Part of it,) fhoiild by Meditation light on
the right, even from the obfervable Con-
venience and Beauty of it, without making
out its Obhgation from the true Principles
of the Law of Nature, and Foundations of
Morality. But thefc incoherent Apoph-
thegms of Philofbphers, and wife Men,
however excellent in themfelves, and well
intended by them, could never make a,Mo-
rality, whereof the World could be con-
vinced ; could never rife to the Force of a
Law that Mankind could with Certainty de-
pend on. Whatfbever Ihould thus be univer-
fally ufeful, as a Standard to which Men
fliould conform their Manners, muft have its
Authority either from Reafon or Revelation.
'Tis not every Writer of Morals, or Com-
piler of it from others, that can thereby be
ereded into a Law-giver to Mankind ; and
a Didator of Rules, which are therefore
valid, becaule they are to be found in his
Books, under the Authority of this or that
Philofbpher. He that any one will pretend
to fet up in this Kind, and have his Rules
pafs for authcntick Diredlions, mufl fhew,
that either he builds his Doctrine upon Prin-
ciples of Reafon, felf-evident in themfelves,
and that he deduces .all the Parts of it from
thence, by clear and evident Demonflration ;
or, muft (liew hisCommiflion from Heaven,
that he comes with Authority from God, to

deliver

<7j delivered in the Scriptures. i.^^

deliver his Will and Commands tothe WorlS.
In the former Way, no Body that I know,
before our Saviour's Time, ever did, or
w^ent about to give us a Morality. 'Tis
true, there is a Law of ISfattire : But who is
there that ever did, or undertook to give it
us all entire, as a Law ; No more nor no
lefs, than what was contained in, and had
the Obligation of that Law? Who, ever
made out all the Parts of it, put them to-
gether, and fhewed the World their Obli-
gation ? Where was there any fuch Code,
that Mankind might have Recourfe to, as
their unerring Rule, before our Saviour's
Time ? If there was not, 'tis plain, there
was need of one to give us fuch a Morality^
fuch a Law, which might be the fure Guide
of thofe who had a Defire to go right : And,
if they had a Mind, need not miftakc their
Duty ; but might be certain when they had
performed, when failed in it. Such a Law
of Morality^ jefus Chrift hath given us in
the New Teftament ; but by the latter of
thefe W'^ays, by Revelation. We have
from him a full and fufficient Rule for
our Direction, and conformable to that of
Reafon. But the Truth and Obligation of
its Precepts, have their Force, and are put
paft doubt to us, by the Evidence of his
Miffion. He was fent by God : His Mi-
racles Ihew it; And the Authority of God
in his Precepts cannot be queftioned. Here

Morality

234 ^^^ Reajonahlenefs of Can^VimiYy
Morality has a fure Standard, that Revela-
tion vouches, and Reafon cannot gainfay, nor
queftion ; but both together vvitnefs to
come from God the great Law-maker.
And fuch an one as this out of the New
Teftament, I think the World never had,
nor can any one fay is any where elfe to be
found. Let me ask any one, who is for-
ward to think that theDoclrinc of Morality
was full and clear in the World, at our Sa-
viour's Birth ; Whether would he have
dircded Brutus and Cajfiiis^ (both Men of
Parts and Virtue, the one whereof believed,
and the other disbelieved a future Being)
to be fatislied in the Rules and Obligations of
all the Parts of their Duties j If they fliould
have asked him where they might find the
Lavv', they were to live by, and by which
they fhould be charged or acquitted, as
guilty or innocent ? If to the Sayings of the
Wife, and the Declarations of Philofophers,
he fends them into a wild Wood of Un-
certainty, to an endlefs Maze, from which
they Ihould never get out : If to the Reli-
gions of the World, yet worfe : And if to
their own Reafon, he refers them to that
which had fome Light and Certainty ; but
yet had hitherto failed all Mankind in a
perfed Rule ; and we fee, refolved not the
Doubts that had rifen amongft the ftudious
and thinking Philofophers ^ Nor had yet
been able to convince the Civilized Parts of

. the

as delivered in the Scriptures. 235

theWorld, that they had not given, nor could
without aCrime,take away the Lives of their
Children, by expofing them.

If any one Ihould think to cxcufe humaa
Nature, by laying Blame on Mens Neg-
ligence^ that they did not carry Morality to
an higher Pitch, and make it out entire in
every Part, with that Clearnefs of Demon-
ftration which fbme think it capable of, he
helps not the Matter. Be the Caufc what
it will, our Saviour found Mankind under
a Corruption of Manners and Principles,
which Ages after Ages had prevailed, and
muft be confefled was not in a Way or
Tendency to be mended. The Rulei of
Morality were, in different Countries and
Sedsjdifferent. And natural Reafon no where
had, nor was like to cure the Defeds and
Errors in them. Thofe Juft Meafures of
Right and Wrong, which Neceflity had
any where introduced, the Civil Laws pre-
fcribed, or Philofophy recommended, ftood
not on their true Foundations. They were
looked on as Bonds of Society, and Gonve-
niencies of common Life, and laudable
Practices. But where was it that their Ob-
ligation was throughly known and allowed,
and they received as Precepts of a Law,
of the higheft Law, the Law of Nature ?
That could not be, without a clear Know-
ledge and Acknowledgment of the Law-
maker, and the great Rewards and Punifh-

nients.

1^6 T'h Rea/bnahkne/s ^Chriftianlty,

ments, for thofe that would or would not
obey him. But the Reh'gion of the Hea-
thens, as was before obferved, little con-
cerned itfelf in their Morals. The Priefts
that delivered the Oracles of Heaven, and
pretended to fpeak from the God, fpoke
little of Virtue and a good Life. And on
the other Side, the Philofbphers who fpoke
from Reafon, made not much mention of
the Deity, in their Ethicks. They depended
on Reafon and her Oracles, which contain
nothing but Truth : But yet fome Parts of
that Truth lie too deep for our natural
Powers eafily to reach, and make plain and
vifible to Mankind, without fome Light
from above to direct them. When Truths
are once known to us, tho' by Tradition,
we are apt to be favourable to our own
Parts, and afcribe to our own Underftand-
ings theDifcovery of what, in Reality, we
borrowed from others ; Or, at leaft, finding
we can prove what at firft we learnt from
others, we are forward to conclude it an
obvious Truth, which, if we had fought, we
could not have miffed. Nothing feems hard
to our Underftandings, that is once known;
And becaufe what we fee, we fee with our
own Eyes, we are apt to over-look or for-
get the Help we had from others, who
Ihewed it us, and firft made us fee it, as if
we were not at all beholden to them for
thofe Truths they open'd the Way to, and

led

{ts delivered in the Scriptures. ^^y

led us into j For Knowledge being only of
Truths that are perceived to be fo, we are
favourable enough to our own Faculties to
conclude, that they, of their own Strength,
would have attained thofcDifcoveries, with-
out any Foreign Affiftance ; and that we
know thofe Truths by the Strength and
native Light of our own Minds, as they did
from whom we received them by theirs,
only they had the Luck to be before us.
Thus the whole Stock of Human Know-
ledge is claimed by every one, as his private
Polfeflion, as foon as he (profiting by others
Difcoveries) has got it into his own Mind :
and fo it is ; but not properly by his own
Jingle Induftry, nor of his own Acquifition.
He ftudies, 'tis true, and takes pains to
make a Progrefs in what others have deli-
vered ; but their Pains were of another Sort,
who firft brought thofe Truths to Light,
which he afterwards derives from them.
He that travels the Roads now, applauds
his own Strength and Legs, that have car-
ried him fo far in fuch a Scantling of Time,
and afcribes all to his own Vigour, little
confidering how much he owes to their
Pains, who cleared the Woods, drained the
Bo2;s, built the Bridges, and made the Ways
psffable ; without which he might have
toiled much with little Progrefs. A great
many Things which we have been bred up
in the Belief of, from our Cradles, and are

Notions

13 S The Reafonahknefs o/"Ghriftianity,

Notions grown familiar, (and, as it were,
natural to us, under the Golpel,) we take
for unqueftionable obvious Truths, and
eafily demonftrable ; without confidering
how long we might have been in Doubt or
Ignorance of them, had Revelation been
filent. And many are beholden to Reve-
lation, who do not acknowledge it. 'Tis
no diminifhing to Revelation, that Realbn
gives its Suffrage too, to the Truths Reve-
lation has difcovered. But 'tis our Miftake
to think, that becaufe Reafon confirms them
to us, we had the firft certain Knowledge
of them from thence, and in that clear Evi-
dence we now poJGTefs them. The contrary
is manifeft, in the defe^ive Morality of the
Gentiles before our Saviour's Time, and the
Want of Reformation in the Principles and
Meafures of it, as well as Pradlice. Philo-
sophy feemed to have fpent its Strength,
and done its utmoft ; or if it fhould have
gone farther, as we fee it did not, and from
undeniable Principles given us Ethicks in a
Science like Mathematicks, in every Part
demonftrable, this yet would not have been
fo effedual to Man in this imperfect State^
nor proper for the Cure. The greateft Part
of Mankind want Leifure or Capacity for
Demonftration, nor can carry a Train of
Proofs, which in that Way they muft always
depend upon for Convidion, and cannot be
required to aifent to till they fee the Demon-
ftration.

as delivered in the Scriptures. 12>9

ftration. Where-ever they ftick,the Teachers
are always put upon Proof, and muft clear
the Doubt, by a Thread of coherent Dedudi-
ons from the iirft Principle, how long, or how
intricate foever that be. And you may as loon
hope to have all the Day-Labourers and
Tradefmen, the Spinfters and Dairy-Maids,
perfed Mathematicians, as to have them per-
fect in Ethicks this Way : Hearing plain
Commands, is the lure and only Courfe to
bring them to Obedience and Practice :
The grcateft Part cannot know, and there-
fore they muft believe. And I ask, whe-
ther one coming from Heaven in the Power
of God, in full and clear Evidence and
Demonftration of Miracles, giving plain
and dired Rules of Morality and Obedi-
ence, be not likelier to enlighten the Bulk
of Mankind, and fet them right in their
Duties, and bring them to do them, than
by Reafoning with them from general No-
tions and Principles of human Reafon ?
And were all the Duties of human Life
clearly demonftrated, yet I conclude, when
well confidered, that Method of teaching
Men their Duties, would be thought pro-
per only for a few, who had much Leifure,
improved Underftandings, and were ufed
to abftrad Reafonings : But the Inftrudion
of the People were beft ftill to be left to
the Precepts and Principles of the Gofpel,
The healing of the Sick, the reftoring

Sight

140 ^^^ Reafinahlenefs ^Chriftianity,

Sight to the Blind by a Word, the raifing)
and being raifed from the Dead, are Matters
of Fact, which they can without Difficulty
conceive ; and that he who does fuch
Things, muft do them by the Afliftance
of a divine Power. Thefe Things lie
level to the ordinarieft Apprehenfion ; he
that can diftinguilh between Sick and
Well, Lame and Sound, Dead and Alive,
is capable of this Doctrine. To one who
is once perfuaded that Jefus Chrift was fent
by God to be a King, and a Saviour of
thofe who do believe in him, all his Com-
mands becom.e Principles ; there needs no
other Proof for the Truth of what he fays,
but that he faid it : And then there needs
no more but to read the infpired Books to
be inftruded ; all the Duties of Morality
lie there clear and plain, and eafy to be
underftood. And here I appeal, whether
this be not the fureft, the fafeft, and moft
effectual way of Teaching ; efpccially if
we add this farther Coniideration, that as
it fuits the loweft Capacities of reafonable
Creatures, fb it reaches and fatisiies, nay,
enlightens the higheft. The molt elevated
Under Handings cannot but fubmit to the
Authority of this Dodrine as Divine ;
which coming from the Mouths of a Com-
pany of illiterate Men, hath not only the
Atteftation of Miracles, but Reafon to
confirm it, fmce they delivered no Precepts,

but

as dilivered in the Scriptures. 241

but fuch, as though Reafon of li^d^ had
not clearly made out, yet it could not but
afTent to when thus dilcovered, and think
itfelf indebted for the Difcovery. The
Credit and Authority our Saviour and his
Apoftles had over the Minds of Men, by
the Miracles they did, tempted them not
to mix (as we find in that of all the Seds
of Philofophers, and other Religion?) any
Conceits, any wrong Rules, any thing
tending to their own By-intereft, or that of
a Party, in their Morality : No Tang of
PrepofTeflion or Fancy \ no Footfteps of
Pride or Vanity ; no Touch of Oftentatlon
or Ambition appears to have a Hand in it :
It is all pure, all fincere ; nothing too
much, nothing wanting : But fuch a com-
pleat Rule of Life^ as the wifeft Men mull
acknowledge, tends entirely to the Good of
Mankind ; and that all would be happy,
if all would pradife it.

3. The outward Forms of worfljipfnig
the Deity wanted a Reformation : Stately
Buildings, coftly Ornaments, peculiar and
uncouth Habits, and a numerous Huddle
of pompous, phantaftical, cumberfome
Ceremonies, every where attended divine
Worlhip. This, as it had the peculiar
Name, fo it was thought the principal Part,
if not the Whole of Religion \ nor could
this polfibly be amended whilft the y^it/Z^
Ritual itood, and there was fo much of it

Q^ , mixed

24- The Reafotiabknefs o/" Chriftianity,

mixed with the Worfhip of the True God.
To this alio our Saviour, with the Know-
ledge of the infinite, invifible, fupream
Spirit, brought a Remedy, in a plain, Ipi-
ritual, and fuitable Worfhip. Jefus lays to
the Woman of Samaria, The Hour cometh;
when ye JJ:^aU neither in this Mountain, nor
yet at Jerufalem, worfhip the Father : But
the true H'orfiippers, Jlmll worJJjip the Fa-
ther both in Spirit and in 'Truth • for
the Father Jieheth fuch to ivorpip. To
be worlhipped in Spirit and in Truth, with
Apphcation of Mind and Sincerity of Heart,
was what God henceforth only required.
Magnificent Temples, and Confinement to
certain Places, were now no longer necel^
fary for his Worfhip, which by a puie
Heart might be performed any where. The
Splendor and Diftindion of Habits, and
Pomp of Ceremonies, and all outfide Per-
formances, might now be fpared. God,
who was a Spirit, and made known to be
fo, required none of thole, but the Spirit
only ; and that in publick AfTemblies,
(where Ibme Aclions muft lie open to the
View of the World) all that could appear
and be feen, fliould be done decently, and
in order, and to Edification. Decency,
Order, and Edification, were to regulate
all their publick- Ads of Worfhip ; and
beyond what thefe required, the outward
Appearance (which was of little Value in

the

as delivered in the Scriptures. 243

the Eyes of God) was not to go. Having
ftiut out Indecency and Confiifion out of
their Aflemblies, they need not be folici-
tous about ufclefs Ceremonies : Praifes and
Prayer, humbly offered up to the Deity,
was the Worfhip he now demanded ; and
in thefe every one was to look after his
own Heart, and know that it was that
alone which God had regard to, and ac-»'
cepted.

4. Another great Advantage received by
our Saviour, is the great Incouragement he
brought to a virtuous and pious Life ; great
enough to furmount the Difficulties and
Obftacles that lie in the Way to it, and
reward the Pains and Hardfhips of thofe
who ftuck firm to their Duties, and fuf*
fered for the Tcftimony of a good Con-
fcience. The Portion of the Rlditeous
has been in all Ages taken Notice of to be
pretty fcanty in this World : Virtue and
Profperity do not often accompany one
another, and therefore Virtue feldom had
many Followers : And 'tis no Wonder ihe
prevailed not much in a State, where the
Inconveniencies that attended her were vi-
fible, and at hand, and the Rewards doubt-
ful, and at a Diftancc. Mankind, who
are and muft be allowed to purfue their
Happinefs, nay, cannot be hindered, could
not but think themfelves excufed from a
ftrid Obfervation of Rules, which appeared
0^2 fo

244 '^^^ Reafonahlenefs <3/'ChiIfl:ianity,

fo little to confift with their chief End,
Happinefs, vvhilft they kept them from
the Enjoyments of this Life ; and they had
little Evidence and Security of another.
*Tis true, they might have argued the
other Way, and concluded, That, becaufe
the Good were moftof them ill-treated here,
there was another Place where they Ihould
meet with better Ufage : But 'tis plain they
did not. Their Thoughts of another Life
were, at beft, obfcure ; and their Expecta-
tions uncertain. Of Mcwesj and Ghofts, and
the Shades of departed Men, there was
fome Talk ; but little certain, and lefs
minded. They had the Names of Sfyx
and Jcberon : of Elyjlan Fields, and Seats
of the Blefled : But they had them gene-
rally from their Poets, mixed with their
Fables, and fo they looked more like the In-
ventions of Wit, and Ornaments of Poetry,
than the ferious Pcrfuafions of the Grave
and the Sober. They came to them bun-
dled up amongft their Tales; and for Tales
they took them. And that which rendered
them more fufpecled, and lefs ufeful to
Virtue, was, that the Philofophers feldoni
fet on their Rules on Mens Minds and
Pradices, by Confideration of another Life.
The chief of their Arguments were from
the Excellency of Virtue ; and the higheft
they generally went, was the exalting of
human Nature, whofe Perfection lay in

Virtue.

as delivered in the Scriptures. 245

Virtue. And if the Prieft at any time
talked of the Ghofls below, and a Life
after this, it was only to keep JNIen to their
fuperftitious and idolatrous Rites, whereby
the Ufe of this Doctrine was lofl to the
credulous Multitude, and its Belief to the
quicker fighted, who fufpected it prefently
of Prieft-Craft. Before our Saviour's
Time, the Dodrlne of a future State, tho*
it were not wholly hid, yet it was not
clearly known in the World. 'Twas an
imperfed View of Reafon ; or, perhaps,
the decayed Remains of an antient Tradi-
tion, which rather feemed to float on Mens
Fancies, than fmk deep into their Hearts.
It was fomething, they knew not what,
between Being and not Being. Something
in Man they imagined might efcape the
Grave ; but a perfect compleat Life of an
eternal Duration, after this, was what
eitred little into their Thoughts, and lefs
into their Perfuafions. And they were fo
far from being clear herein, that we fee no
Nation of the World publickly protefled
it, and built upon it ; no Religion taught
it ; and 'twas no where made an Article of
Faith, and Principle of Religion till J-efus
Chrifl came : Of whom it is truly faid.
That he at his appearing brought Life and
Immortality to Lights And that not only in
the clear Revelation of it, and in Inftances
ihewn of Men raifed from the Dead, but
- Q_3 i^s

2.4^ ^he Reafonabknefs of Chriftianity,

he has given us an iinqueftionable Aflu-
ranee and Pledge of it, in his own Refur-
rection and Afcenlion into Heaven. How
hath this one Truth changed the Nature
of Things in the World ? And given the
Advantage to Piety over all that could
tempt or deter Men from it. The Philofo.-
phers, indeed, Ihewed the Beauty of Vir«
tue : They fet her off fo as drew Mens
Eyes and Approbation to her ; but leaving
her unendowed, very fcv/ were willing to
elpoufe her. The Generality could not
refule her their Efteem and Commendation,
but ftill turned their Baci^s on her, and for-
Ibok her, as a Match not for their Turn.
But now there being put into the Scales,
on her Side, an exceeding and immortal
IVelght of Glory^ Interefl is come about to
her; and Virtue now is vifibiy the moft
enriching Purchafe, and by much the beft
Bargain. That Hie is the Perfection and
Excellency of our Nature ; that Ihe is her-
fclf a Reward, and will recommend our
Names to future Ages, is not all that can
now be faid for her. 'Tis not ftrange that
the learned Heathens fatislied not many
with fuch airy Commendations. It has
another Reliih and Eliicacy to perfuade
Men, that if thev live well here, they fhall
be happy hereafter. Open their Eyes
tipon the endlefs unfpcakable Joys of an-
pthcr Life 5 and their Hearts will find

ibme^

as delivered in the Scriptures. 24/^

fomething iblid and powerful to move
them. The View of Heaven and Hell,
will caft a Slight upon the fhort Plcalures
and Pains of this prefent State, and give
Attractions and Encouragements to Virtue,
which Reafon and Intereft, and the Care
of ourfelves, cannot but allow and prefer.
Upon this Foundation, and upon this only,
Morality Itands firm, and may defy all
Competition. This makes it more than a
Name, a fubftantial Good, worth all our
Aims and Endeavours ; and thus the Golpel
of Jejhs Chr'ifi hath delivered it to us.

5. To rhefe I muft add one Advantage
more we have by Jefus Chr'ifl^ and that
is, the Promife of Afliilance. \f we do
what we can, he will give us his Spirit to
help us to do what, and how we Ihould.
'Twill be idle for us, w^ho know not how
our own Spirits move and a6t us, to ask in
what manner the Spirit of God Ihall work
upon us. The Wifdom that accompanies
that Spirit, knows better than we how wc
are made, and how to work upon us. If a
wife Man knows how to prevail on his
Child, tobring him to what he dcfires, can
we fufpe^t, that the Spirit and Wifdom of
God Ihould fail in it, though we perceive
or comprehend not the Ways of his Opera-
tion ? Chrift has promifed it, who is Faith-
ful and Juft, and we cannot doubt of the
Performance. 'Ti$ not rcquifite on this
(^ 4 Occa-

248 The Reafonahlenefs <9/^Chriftianity^

Occaiion, for the Inhancing of this Benefit,
to enlarge on the Frailty of Minds, and
Weaknefs of our Conflitutions ; how liable
to Miftakes, hbw apt to go aftray, and
how eafily to be turned out of the Paths
of Virtue. If any one needs go beyond
himfelf, and the Teilimony of his own
Confcience in this Point ; if he feels not
his own Errors and Pallions always tempt-
ing him, and often prevailing, againft the
Uriel: Rules of his Duty, he need but look
abroad into any Age of the World to be
convinced. To a Man under the Diffi-
culties of his Nature, befet with Tempta-
tions, and hedged in vvith prevailing Cuftom,
'tis no fmali Encouragement to fet himfelf
ferioufly on the Courfes of Virtue, and
Practice of true Religion, That he is from
a fure Hand, and an Almighty Arm,
promifed Ailiflance to fupport and carry
him through.

There remains yet fomething to be faid
to thofe who will be ready to objed. If the
Belief of Jcfus of Nazareth to be the
Mcjftah^ together with thofe concomitant
Articles of his Refurrection, Rule, and
coming again to judge the World, be all
the Faith required as neceffary to Juftiiica-
tion, to what pufpofe were the Epiftles
written; I fay, if the Belief of thofe many
Doftrines contained in them, be not alfo
pecelFary to Salvation ? And if what i§

Inhere

as delivered in the Scriptures. 24^

there delivered, a Chriftian may believe
or disbelieve, and yet neverthelefs be a
Member of Chrift's Church, and one of the
Faithful ?

To this I anfwer, That the Epiftles were
written upon feveral Occafions ; and he
that will read them as he ought, muft ob-
ferve what 'tis in them is principally aimed
at ; find what is the Argument in hand,
and how managed, if he will underftand
them right, and profit by them. The ob-
fcrving of this will bell help us to the
true Meaning and Mind of the Writer ; for
that is the Truth which is to be received
and believed, and not fcattered Sentences
in a Scripture-Language accommodated to
our Notions and Prejudices. We muft
look into the Drift of the Difcourfe, ob-
ferve the Coherence and Connexion of the
Parts, and fee how it is confiftent with it-
felf, and other Parts of Scripture, if we will
conceive it right. We muft not cull out,
as beft fuits our Syftem, here and there a
Period or a Verfe, as if they were all di-
ftind and independent Aphorifms ; and
make thefe the Fundamental Articles of
the Chriftian Faith, and neceflary to Sal-
vation, unlefs God has made them fo.
There be many Truths'in the Bible, which
a good Chriftian may be wholly ignorant
oiy and fo not believe, which, perhaps,
fpme lay great Strefs on, and call Funda-
mental

^50 ^^^ Reafonahlenefs of Chriftianlty,

mental Articles, becaiife they are the di-
ftinguifhing Points of their Communion.
The Epiftles, moft of them, carry on a
Thread of Argument, which in the Stile they
are writ, cannot every where be obfcrved
without great Attention. And to confider
the Texts, as they Hand and bear a Part in
that, is to view them in their due Light,
and the Way to get the true Senfe of them.
They were writ to thofe who wxre in the
Faith, and true Chriftians already ; and fb
could not be defigned to teach them the
Fundamental Articles and Points neceflary
to Salvation : The Epiftle to the Romans
was writ to all that "were at Rome, beloved
of God^ called to be the Saints^ whofe Faith
was fpokeji of through the JVorld^ chap. i.
7, 8. To whom St. Paul*?, firft Epiftle to
the Corinthians was, he fhews, chap, i. 2,
4, &c. Unto the Church of God which is at
Corinth, to them that arefan^ifed in Chrift
JcfuSy called to be Saints ; "juith all them
that in every Place call upon the l>Jame of
Jefus Chrift our Lord^ both theirs and ours.
I thank my God always on your Behalf for
the Grace of God which is given you by |efus
Chrift j that in every Thing ye are enriched
by him in all Utterance^ and in all Know-
ledge : Even as the T^ftimony of Chrift was
confirmed in you. So that ye come behind
in no Gft'^ waiting for the Coming of the
Lord Jefus Chrift, And fo like wife the

Second

as delivered in the Scriptures. 251

Second was, To the Church of God at
Corinth, with all the Saints in Achaia,
chap. i. I. His next is to the Churches of
Galatia. That to the Ephejtans was, T'o the
Saints that were at Ephefus, and to the
Faithful in Chrlfl Jefus. So likewife, To
the Saints and faithful Brethren in Chrifi at
Golofle, who had Faith in Chrifi jefusy
and Love to the Saints* 7i the Church of
the ThefTalonians. To T'imothy his Son in
the Faith. I'u Titns his own Son after the
common Faith. 7i Philemon his dearly he-
lovedy and Fellow-Labourer. And the Au-
thor to the Hebrews y calls thofe he writes
to, Holy Brethren^ Partakers of the Heavenly
Callings chap. iii. i. From whence it is
evident, that all thofe whom St. ^aul wrote
to, were Brethren^ Saint s^ faithful in the
Churchy and lb Chriftians already, and
therefore wanted not the Fundamental Ar-
ticles of the Chriftian Religion ; without a
Belief of which they could not be faved :
Nor can it be fuppofed, that the lending of
fuch Fundamentals was the Realbn of the
Apoftle's writing to any of them. To fuch
alio S. Peter writes, as is plain from the fir ft
Chapter of each of his Epiftles. Nor is \t.
hard to obferve the like in St. James and
St. John'^ Epiftles. And St. Jude directs
his thus : To them that are fantiifed by God
the Father^ and freferved in Jefus Chrift,
(ind called. The Epiftles therefore bein^

all

252 ^>^^ R.eaJombleneJs 0/" Chriftianity,

all written to thofe who were already Be-
lievers and Chriftians, the Occafion and
End of writing them, could not be to in-
ftrud: them in that which was necefTary to
make them Chriftians. This 'tis plain they
knew and believed already ; or elfe they
could not have been Chriftians and Be-
lievers. And they were writ upon parti-
cular Occafions ; and without thofe Occa-
ftons had not been writ, and fo cannot be
thought neceflary to Salvation ; though
they refolving Doubts, and reforming
Miftakes, are of great Advantage to our
Knowledge and Pradice. I do not deny,
but the great Dodrines of the Chriftian
Faith are dropt here and there, and fcat-
tered up and down in moft of them. But
^tis not in the Epiftles we are to learn what
are the Fundamental Articles of Faith,
where they are promiicuoufly, and with-
out Diftinclion mixed with other Truths
in Difcourfes that were (though for Edifi-
cation indeed, yet) only Occafional. We
fhall find and difcern thole great and ne-
ceflary Points beft in the Preaching of our
Saviour and the Apoftlcs, to thofe who
were yet Strangers, and ignorant of the
Faith, to bring them in, and convert them
to it. And what that was, we have ^c^n
already out of the Hiftory of the Evange-
lifts, and the ^i:?lj- ; where they are plainly
laid down, fo that no body can miftake

them.

as delivered in the Scriptures. 1153

them. The Epiftles to particular Churches,
befides the main Argument of each of them
(which was fome prcfent Concernment of
that particular Church to which they feve-
rally were addrelTed) do in many Places
explain the Fundamentals of the Chriftian
Religion ; and that wifely, by proper Ac-
commodations to the Apprehenfions of thofe
they were writ to, the better to make them
imbibe the Chriftian Dodrine, and the
more eafily to comprehend the Method,
Reafons, and Grounds of the great Work
of Salvation. Thus we fee in the Epiftle
to the Romans^ Adoption (a Cuftom well
known amongft thofe of Rome) is much
made ufe of, to explain to them the Grace
•and Favour of God, in giving them Eter-
nal Life ; to help them to conceive how
they became the Children of God, and to
affure them of a Share in the Kingdom of
Heaven , as Heirs to an Inheritance.
Whereas the fetting out, and confirming
the Chriftian Faith to the Hebrews^ in the
Epiftle to them, is by Allufions and Argu-
ments, from the Ceremonies, Sacrifices, and
Oeconomy of the JewSy and reference to
the Records of the Old Teftament. And
as for the General Epiftles, they, we may
fee, regard the State and Exigencies, and
ibme Peculiarities of thofe Times. Thefe
Holy Writers, infpired from above, writ
nothing but Truth, and in moft Places very

weighty

254 ^^^ Reafonahknefs ^Ghriftianity,

weighty Truths to us now ; for the ex-
pounding, clearing, and confirming of the
Chriftian Dodrine, and eftablilhing thofe
in it who had embraced it. But yet every
Sentence of theirs mull not be taken up
and looked on as a Fundamental Article
necelTary to Salvation ; without an explicit
Belief whereof, no body could be a Mem-
ber of Chrift's Church here, nor be admit-
ted into his eternal Kingdom hereafter. If
all, or moft of the Truths declared in the
Epiftles, were to be received and believed
as Fundamental Articles, what then be-
came of thofe Chriftians who were fallen
afleep (as St. Paul witneffes in his firft to
the .Cormthtans^ many v/ere) before thele
Things in the Epiftles were revealed to
them ? Moft of the Epiftles not being writ-
ten till above twenty Years after our Savi-
our's Afcenfion, and Ibme after Thirty.

But farther, therefore, to thofe who will
be ready to fay, May thofe Truths deli-
vered in the Epiftles, which are not con-
tained in the Preaching of our Saviour and
his Apoftles, and are therefore by this Ac-
count not necelfary to Salvation, be believed
or disbelieved without any Danger ? May a
Chriftian fafcly queftion or doubt of them ?

To this I anfwer. That the Law of
Faith, being a Covenant of Free Grace,
God alone can appoint what ftiall be nccel-
farily believed by every one whom he will

Juftify,

as delivered in the Scriptures, n^^

Juftify. What is the Faith which he will
accept and account for Righteoufnefs,
depends wholly on his good Pleafure • for
'tis of Grace, and not of Right, that this
Faith is accepted. And therefore he alone
can fet the Meafures of it ; and what he
has fo appointed and declared, is alone ne-
ceflary. No body can add to thefe Fun-
damental Articles of Faith, nor make any
other necelfary, but what God himfelf
hath made and declared to be lb. And
what thefe are, which God requires of
thofe who will enter into, and receive the
Benefits of the New Covenant, has already
been ihewn. An explicit Belief of thefe,
is abfolutely required of all thofe to whom
the Gofpel of Jefus Chrlji is preached,
and Salvation thro' his Name propofed.

The other Parts of Divine Revelation
are Objeds of Faith, and are fo to be
recei vcd . Th ey are Truths, whereof no one
can be rejected ; none that is once known to
be fuch, may or ought to be disbelieved;
for to acknowledge any Propofition to be of
Divine Revelation and Authority, and yet to
deny or disbelieve it, is to offend againft this
Fundamental Article, and Ground of Faith,
that God is true. But yet a great many
of the Truths revealed in the Gofpel,
every one does, and muft confeis, a Man
may be ignorant of j nay, disbeheve v/;Lh-
out Danger to his Salvation : As is evident

in

ti^6 The Reafonahkmfs of Chriftianlty,

in thofe, who allowing the Authority^
differ in the Interpretation and Meaning of
feveral Texts of Scripture, not thought
Fundamental : In all which 'tis plain, the
contending Parties, on one Side or t'other,
are ignorant of, nay, disbelieve the Truths
delivered in Holy Writ, unlefs Contrarities
and Contradidions can be contained in the
fame Words, and Divine Revelation can
mean contrary to itfelf.

Though all Divine Revelation requires
the Obedience of Faith, yet every Truth
of infpired Scriptures is not one of thofe,
that by the Law of Faith is required to be
explicitly believed to Juftification. What
thofe are, we have feen by what our Savi-
our and his Apoftles propofed to, and re-
quired in thofe whom they con verted to the
Faith. Thoie are Fundamentals, which
'tis not enough not to disbelieve, every one
is required actually to aflent to them. But
any other Propofition contained in the
Scripture, which God has not thus made a
neceiTary Part of the Law of Faith (with-
out an actual AlTent to which he will not
allow any one to be a Believer) a Man
may be ignorant of, v^ithout hazarding his
Salvation by a Defed in his Faith. He
believes all that God has made neceffary
for him to believe and aflent to ; and as
for the reft of Divine Truths, there is no-
thing more required of him, but that he

receive

as delivered in the Scriptures. 257

receive all the Parts of Divine Revelation,
with a Docility and Difpofition prepared
to embrace, and aflent to all Truths coming
from God j and fubmit his Mind to \vhat-
Ibevcr fhall appear to him to bear that
Character. Where he, upon fair Endea-
vours underflands it not, how can he avoid
being ignorant ? And where he cannot put
feveral Texts, and make them confift to-
gether, what Remedy ? He mufl either in-
terpret one by the other, or fufpend his
Opinion. He that thinks that more is, or
can be required, of poor frail Man in
Matters of Faith, will do well to confider
what Abfurdities he will run into. God,
out of the Inlinitenefs of his Mercy, has
dealt with Man as a compailionate and
tender Father. He gave him Reafon, and
with it a Law, that could not be other-
wife than what Reafon fhould dictate, un-
lefs we Ihould think, that a reafonablc
Creature, fhould haveanunreafonableLaw.
But confidering the Frailty of Man, apt to
run into Corruption and Mifery, he pro-
mifed a Deliverer, whom in his good Time
he fent ; and then declared to all Man-
kind, that whoever would believe him to
be the Saviour promifed, and take him
now railed from the Dead, and conilituted
the Lord and Judge of all Men, to be their
King and Ruler, fhould be faved. This
is a plain intelligible Propoficion • and the
. R All-

1^^ ^he Reafonahknefs o/' Chriftianky,

All-merciful God feems herein to have
confulted the Poor of this World, and the
Bulk of Mankind : Thefe are Articles
that the labouring and illiterate Man may
comprehend. This is a Religion fuited to
vulgar Capacities, and the State of Man-
kind in this World, deftined to Labour
and Travel. The Writers and Wranglers
in Religion fill it with Niceties, and drefs
it up with Notions, which they make ne-
ceflary and fundamental Parts of it ; as if
there were no way into the Church, but
thro' the Academy or Lyceum. The greateft
Part of Mankind have not L'eifure for
Learning and Logick, and fuperfine Di-
ftindions of the Schools. Where the Hand
is ufed to the Plough and the Spade, the
Head is feldom elevated to fublime No-
tions, or exercifed in myfterious Reafon-
ings. 'Tis well if Men of that Rank (to
lay nothing of the other Sex) can compre-
hend plainPropofitions, and a fliortReafoning
about Things familiar to- their Minds, and
nearly allied to their daily Experience. Go
beyond this, and you amaze the greateft Part
of Mankind ; and may as well talk Arahick
to a poor Day Labourer, as the Notions and
Language that the Books and Difputes of
Religion are filled with, and as foon you
will be underftood. The Diflenting Con-
gregations, are fuppofed by their Teachers,
to be m.ore accurately inftructed in Matters

of

as delivered in the Scriptures. 2jo

of Faith, and better to underftand the
Chriftian Religion, than the vulgar Gon-
fbrmifts, who are charged vvith great Igno-
rance \ how truly I will not here deter-
mine. But I ask them to tell me ferioully,
Whether half their People have JLeilurc to
Study ? Nay, Whether one in ten of thofe
who come to their Meetings in the Country^
if they had time to Study, do or can un-
derftand the Controverfies at this time io
warmly managed amongft them, about
Juftification, the Subject of this prefenc
Treatife ? I have talked with fome of their
Teachers, who confefs themfelves not to
iinderftand the Difference in Debate be-
tween them : And yet the Points they ftand
on, are reckoned of fo great Weight, fb
Material, fo Fundamental in Reliaiion,
that they divide Communion, and leparate
upon them. Had God intended that none
but the Learned Scribe, the Difputer or
Wife of this World, ihould be Chrifrians,
or be faved \ thus Religion lliould have
- been prepared for them, ill led with Spe-
culations and Niceties, obfcur{" Terms,
and abftracl Notions. But Men of that
Expectation, Men furnifhed with fuch Ac-
quilitions, the Apoftle tells us, i Cor. i. are
rather fliut out from the Simplicity of the
Gofpel, to make way for thofe Poor, Igiio-
raat, Illiterate, who heard and believed
the Promifcs ot a Deliverer, and believed
R 2 Jcfus

2^0 The Reafonahknefs oj CWi^\2imiy^ &c^

Jefus to be him ; who could conceive a
Man dead and made alive again, and, be-
lieve that he fhould, at the End of the
World, come again, and pafs Sentence on
all Men, according to their Deeds. That
the Poor had the Gofpel preached to them,
Chrift makes a Mark, as well as Bufinefs, of
his Million, Matt. xi. 5. And if the Poor
had the Gofpel preached to them, it was,
without doubt, fuch a Gofpel as the Poor
could underftand, plain and intelligible :
And fo it was, as we have feen, in the
Preachings of Chrift and his Apoftles.

A VIN-

VINDICATION

O F T H E

REASONABLENESS

O F

Chriflianity, &c.

FROM

Mr. Edwards's Reflexions.

!^

pae^

Ip

Fte

Q

l^^a

0gS^i^

Y Book had not been long out,
before it fell under the Cor-
redion of the Author of a
Treatife, intitled,6(y//2^ I'houghts
concerning thu fever alCaufes and,
Occafwns of Atheifm^ ef pec tally in the pre-
fect j4ge. No contemptible Adverfary Til
ufllire you ; fince, as it feems, he has got
the Faculty to heighten every thing that
R 2 dilbleafes

o.6z A Vindication of the

difpleafes him into the Capital Crime of
Atheifm ; And breathes againft thole who
come in his Way a Peftilential Air, where-
by every the leaft Diftem.per is turned into
the Plague, and becomes mortal. For who-
ever does not juft fay after Mr. Edwards^
cannot, 'tis evident, efcape being an Athelft,
or a Promoter of Atheifm. I cannot but
approve of any one's Zeal to guard and fe-
cure that Great and Fundamental Article
of all Religion and Morality, that there is
a God ; But Atheifm being a Crime, which,
for its Madnefs as well as Guilt, ought to
fhut a Man out of all Sober and Civil So-
ciety, fliould be very warily charged on
any one by Deduclions and Confequences
which he himfelf does not own, or at leaft
do not manifefrly and unavoidably flow
from what he afferts. This Caution, Cha-»
rity, I think, obliges us to : And our Au-
thor would pOiiibly think himfelf hardly
dealt wdth, if, for negle^ling feme of thole
Rules he himfelf gives, p, 31. and 34.
againft Atheifm, he fhould be pronounced
a Promoter of it : As rational a Charge, I
imagine, as fome of thofe he m.akes, and
as fitly put together, as the T'reatije of the
Recfonailenefs of Chriftjamty^ SCc. brought
in among the Caufes of Atheifm. How-
ever I ihall not much complain of him,
fince he joins me, p. 104. with no worle
Company than two Eminently Pious and

Learne(}

Reafonahknefs of Chriftianlty. 161

Learned * Prelates of our Church, Avhom
he makes Favourers of the fame Conceit^
as he calls it. But what has that Conceit to
do with Atheifm ? Very much. That Conceit
is of Kin to Soclnlanljm^ and Suclnlauljm to
Atheifm. Let us hear Mr. Edwards himfeif,
he fays, p 113, I am all over Socinlanlzdy
and therefore my Book fit to be placed
among the Caufes of Atheifm. For in the
64th and following Pages, he endeavours to
£hcw, That a Socman Is an Athelji^ or, left
that Jhould Jeem harpo, cm that favours the
Caafe of jithtljm, p. 75. For fo he has
been pleafed to mollify, now it is publifiied
as a Treatife, what was much more harfh,
and much more confident in it, when it
was Preached as a Sermon. In this Abate-
ment he feems a little to comply with his
own Advice againil his fourth Caufe of
Atheifm ; which we have in thefe Words,
fag, 24. Wherejore, that isoe may effectually
prevent this Folly hi ourfehesy let us bamfb
^refumptlon, Confidence^ and Self con celt ,
let us extirpate all \Prlde and j^rrogance ;
let us not I ft our j elves In the 'Number of
Caprlclou Jpinlators*

I fhall leave the Socinlans'i\\tm^Q\vts to
anfwer his Charge againfl: them, and fhall
examine his Proof of my bein^ a Soc'inlan,

* Bp. Taylor J and the An^l-or of The Naked Trxth.

' R 4 It

2^4 -A Vindication of the

It Hands thus, fag. 1 1 2. When he [the Au-
thor of the Realbnablenefs of Chnftianity,
&c^ proceeds to mention the yldvantages
and Benefits of Cbrijl's Coming into the
jVorldy and appearing hi the Flejby he hath
fwt one Syllable of his Satisfying for us^ or
by his Death purchafing Life or Salvation^
or any thing that founds like it. this and
feveral other things fiezv that he is all over
Soclnlantzed. Which in Effect is, that be-
caufe I have not fet down all that this Au-
thor perhaps would have done, therefore I
am a Socinlan. But what if I Ihould fay,
I fet down as much as my Argument re-
quired, and yet am no Socinlan ? Would
he from my Silence and Omillion give me
the Lye, and fay, I am one ? Surmizes
that may be over-turned by a fingle De-
nial, are poor Arguments, and fuch as
fome Men would be aihamed of: At leaft,
if they are to be permitted to Men of this
Gentleman's Skill and Zeal, who knows
how to make a good Ufe of Conjedures,
Sufpicions, and Uncharitable Cenfures in
the Caufe of God ^ yet even there too (if
the Caufe of God can need fuch Arts)
they require a good Memory to keep them
from recoiling upon the Author. He might
have taken Notice of thefe Words in my
Book, pag. 13. '' From this Eftate of
'^ Death jefus CHRIST RESTORES all
^^ Mankind to Life," And a little lower,

Rciifonabknefs of Chriftianity. 265

^< The Life which Jefus Chrift reftores to
" all Men." And/?. 177. " He that hath
" incurred Death for his own Tranlgreflion,
« cannot LAY DOWN HIS LIFE FOR
« ANOTHER, as our Saviour profefTes
'^ he did.*' This, methinks, SOUNDS
SOMETHING LIKE Chnfs purchajing
Life for us by his Death. But this Reve-
rend Gentleman has an Anfwer ready ; It
was not in the Place he would have had it
in : It was not where I metition the Ad-
vantages and Benefits of Chrifl's Coming.
And therefore, I not having one Syllable
of Chrift's Purchafing Life and Salvation
for us by his Death, or any thing that
founds like it ; this, and feveral other things
that might be offered, ihevv that I am all
over Socinianized. A very clear and inge-
nuous Proof, and let him enjoy it.

But what will become of me, that I have
not mentioned SatisfaBion !

PolTibly this Reverend Gentleman would
have had Charity enough for a known
Writer of the Brotherhoodj to have found
it by an Inaendo in thofe Words above
quoted, of laying down his Life for ano-
ther. But every thing is to be llrained
here the other Way. For the Author of
the Eteafonahlenefs of Chriflianity^ &Cc. is of
NecefFity to be reprefented as a Socinian ;
or elfe his Beok may be read, and the
Truths in it, which Mr. EdiJi^ards likes not,

be

2.66 A Vindication of thr

received, and People put upon examining.
Thus one, as full of happy Conjectures
and Sufplcions as this Gentleman, might
be apt to argue. But what if the Author
defign'd his Treatife, as the Title Ihews,
chiefly for thofe who were not yet through-
ly or firmly Chriftians ; propofing to work
on thofe who either wholly disbelieved,
or doubted of the Truth of the Chriftian
Religion ? Would any one blame his Pru-
dence, if he mentioned only thofe Advan-
tages which all Chriftians are agreed in ?
Might he not remember and obferve that
Command of the Apoftle, Rom, xiv. i.
Him that is weak in the Faith ^ receive ye^
hut not to doubtful Difputations^ without
being a Socinian ? Did he amils, that he
offered to the Belief of thofe that ftood off,
that, and only that which our Saviour and.
his Apoftles preached for the Reducing the
unconverted World ? And would any one
think he in earneil went about to perfuade
Men to be Chriftians, who ftiould ufe
that as an Argument to recommend the
Gofpel, which he has obferved Men to
lay hold on as an Objedion againft it?
To urge fuch Points of Controverfy as ne-
ceflary Articles of Faith, when we fee our
Saviour and the Apoftles in their Preach-
ing urged them not as necelfary to be be-
lieved, to make Men Chriftians, is' (by
our own Authority) to add Prejudices to

Prejudices,

Reafonahknefs of Chriftianity. ±6y

Prejudices, and to block up our own Way
to thole Men whom we would have Accefs
to, and prevail upon. But Ibme Men had
rather you fhould write Booty, and crols
your own Dcfign of removing Mens Pre-
judices to Chriftianity, than leave out one
Tittle of what they put into their Syftems.
To fuch I fay, convince but Men of the
Million of Jefus Chrift, make them bat lee
the Truth, Simplicity, and Reafonablenels
of what he himfelf taught, and required
to be believed by his Followers ; and you
need not doubt, but, being once fully
perfuaded of his Doctrine, and the Advan-
tages v/hich all Chriftians- agree are received
by him, fuch Converts will not lay by the
Scriptures 3 but, by a conflant Reading
and Study of them, get all the Light they
can from this divine Revelation ; and
nourifh themfclves up in the Words of
Faith, and of good Doctrine, as St. Paul
fpeaks to timothy. But feme Men will
not bear it, that any one Ihould fpeak of
Religion, but according to the Model that
they themfelves have made of it. Nay,
though he profeflfes it upon the very Terms,
and in the very Words v/hich our Saviour
and his Apoftles preached it in, yet he Ihall
not elcape Cenfares, and the feverefl Infi-
nuations. To deviate in the leaft, or to
omit any thing contained in their Articles,
is Jlerefy under the moll invidious Names

\\\

a^S A Vindication of the

in Fafhion, and 'tis well if he efcapes being
a down-right Atheift. Whether this be
the Way for Teachers to make themfelves
hearkened to, as Men in earneft in Reli-
gion, and really concerned for the Salva-
tion of Mens Souls, I leave them to con-
fider. What Succefs it has had towards
perfuading Men of the Truth of Chriftia-
nity, their own Complaints of the Preva-
lency of Atheifm on the one Hand, and
the Number of Deifts on the other, fuffici-
ently Ihew.

Another thing laid to my Charge, f.
105. and 107. is mj forgetting^ or rather
wilful omitting fome flam and obvious Paf-
feges, and fome Famous T'e ft i monies in the
Evangelifts'-y namely, Mat, xxviii. \^. Go
teach all Nations^ baptizing them in the
Name of the Father^ and of the Son^ and of
the Holy Ghoji. And John i. i . //; the
Beginning was the pFord, and the Word was
with God J and the Word was God. And
verfe 14. j4nd the Word was made Flejh.
Mine, it feems, in this Book, are all Sins of
OmiHion. And yet when it came out, the
Buz, and Flutter, and Noife which was
made, and the Reports which were raifed,
would have perfuaded the World that it
fubverted all Morality, and was defigned
againft the Chriftian Religion. I muft
confels Difcourfcs of this Kind, which I
met with fprcad up and down, at firft

amazed

Reafonahkmjs of Ghrlftianity. q.6^

amazed me ; knowing the Sincerity of
thole Thoughts which perluaded me to
publifli it, (not without fome Hope of do-
ing Ibme Service to decaying Piety, and
miftaken and flandered Chriftianity.) I
fatisfied my felf againft thofe Heats with
this AfTu ranee, that if there was any thing
in my Book, againft what any one called
Religion, it was not againft the Religion
contained in the Gofpel. And for that I
appeal to all Mankind.

But to return to Mr. Edwards in particu-
lar, I muft take Leave to tell him, that if
omitting plain and obvious Pajpigesy and
famous ^eJlif72omes in the Evangeliftsy be a
Fault in me, I wonder why he, among fo
many of this Kind that I am guilty of,
mentions fo few. For I muft acknowledge
I have omitted more, nay, many more,
that are plain and obvious Pajfages^ and fa^
?nous 7'e/iimonits in the EmngeliffSy than
thofe he takes Notice of But if I have
left out none of thofe Pajfages or Tejlimo-
nies which contain what our Saviour and
his Apoftles preached, and required Alfent
to, to make Men Believers, I Ihall think
my Omiftions (let them be what they will)
no Faults in the prefent Cafe. Whatever
Doctrines Mr. Edwards would have to be
believed, if they are fuch as our Saviour
and his Apoftles required to be believed to
make a Man a Ciuiftian, he will be fure to

find

lyo ji Vindication of the

find them in thofe Preachings and Famous
'teffimofiks of our Saviour and his Apoftles
that I have quoted. And if they are not
there, he may reft fatislied, that they were
not propofed by our Saviour and his Apo-
ftles, as necefTary to be believed, to make
INIen Chrift's Difciples.

If the OmifTion of other Texts in the
Evangelifts (which are all true alio, and
no one of them to be disbelieved) be a
Fault, it might have been expeded that
Mr. Edwards fhould have accufed me for
leaving out Matt. i. i8. to 23. and Matt.
xvii. 24. 55. 50. 6c. for thefe are plain
and obvious Pajpiges^ and famous fefibno-
tiles In the Evangelifts ; and fuch whereon
thefe Articles of the Apoftles Creed, viz.
Born of the Virgin Mary, fuffered under
Pontius Pilate, was crucified^ dead and bu-
riedy are founded. Thefe being Articles
of the Apoftles Creed, are looked upon as
Fundamental Doufrlnes : And one would
wonder why Mr. Edwards lb quietly pafTes
by their Omiflion ; did it not appear that
he was i^o intent on fixing his Imputation
OiSochnanlJm upon me, that rather than mifs
that, he was content to drop the other Ar-
ticles of his Creed. For I muft obfcrve to
him, that if he had blam.ed me for the
Omiflion of the Places laft quoted out of
St. Matthezv (as he had as much Reafon as
for any other) it would ' plainly have ap-
peared

Reafonahknefs of Chriftianity. lyi

peared how idle and ill -grounded his
charging Socimanlfii on me was. But at
any rate he was to give my Book an ill
Name, not becaufe it was Soci7nany for he
has no more Reafon to charge it with So-
cimantfm^ for the Omillions he mentions,
than the Apoftles Creed. 'Tis therefore
well for the Compilers of that Creed, that
they lived not in Mr. Edwards's Days ; for
he would, no doubt, have found them all
over Soc'mianizedj for omitting the Texts
he quotes, and the Dodrines he colleds
out of JoJmi, and y^^/^ xiv. p, 107, 108.
Socimamfra then is not the Fault of the
Book, whatever elfe it be. For I repeat
it again, there is not one Word of Soci"
mantfm in it. I, that am not lb good at
Gonjeclurcs as Mr. Edwards^ Ihall leave it
to him to fay, or to thofe who can bear the
Plainnefs and Simplicity of the Gofpcl, to
guefs, what its Fault is.

Some Men are Ihrewd GuelTcrs, and
others would be thought to be fo : But he
muft be carried far by his forward Inclina-
tion, who does not take notice, that the
World is apt to think him a Diviner,
for any thing rather than for the Sake of
Truth, who fets up his own Sufpicions
againft the dired Evidence of Things, and
pretends to know other Mens Thoughts
and Reafcns better than they themfelves.
I had faid, that the Epiftles being writ to

thofe

1"]% A Vindication of the

thole who were already Believers, could
not be fuppofed to he writ to them to
teach them Fundamentals, without which
they could not be Belieyers.

And the Rcalbn I gave why I had not
gone through the Writings in the Epiftles,
to colled the Fundamental Articles of Faith
as I had through the Preachings of our Savi-
our and his Apoftles, was, becaufe thofe
Fundamental Articles were in thofe Epiftles
promifcuoufly, and without Diftintlion,
mixed with other Truths. And therefore
we Ihall find and difcern thofe great and
necelTary Points beft in the Preachings
of our Saviour and his Apoftles, to thofe
who were yet ignorant of the Faith, and
unconverted. This, as far as I know
my own Thoughts, was the Realbn why I
did (as Mr. Edwards complains, ^. lop.)
fiot 'proceed to the EpiJileSy and not give
an Account of them^ as I had done of the
Gofpels ' and Atis. This I imagined I
had in the Clofe of my Book, fo fully and
clearly exprelTed, that I fuppofed no
body, hov/ willing foever, could have
miftaken me. But this Gentleman is fo
much better acquainted with me than I am
with myfelf ; fees fo deeply into my Heart,
and knows fo perfedly every Thing that
pafTes there, that he with Affurance tells
the World, p. lop. 7'hat I purpofely omitted
the Epifolaiy fiYithigs of the Apofiksy be-

caufo

Reajbnahletjefs of Chiiftianity. 27 j

caufe they are fraught with other Funda^
mental Do0rlnes hejides that one which I
mention. And then he goes on to enume-
rate thofe Fundamental Articles, p. no,
III. viz. T'he Corruption and Degeneracy of
Human Nature, with the true Original of it
(the Defe^ion ofourfrfl Parents) the Pro»
pagation of Sin and Mortality^ our ReftorU'^
tion and Reconciliation by Chrifl's Bloody
the Eminency and Excellency of his Priefi^
hood^ the Efficacy of his Deaths the full
Satisfaction tnade thereby to Divine f-uftice^
and his being made an All-Juffi^cient Sacrifce
for Sin, Chrift's Right eoafnefs^ our Jullif-^
cation by it, .Eleclion, Adoption., Sanftifica^
tion, Saving Faith, the Nature of the
Gofpel, the New Covenant, the Riches of
God's Mercy in the Way of Salvation by
Jafus Chrift, the Certainty of the Refurre^
^ton of Human Bodies, and of the future
Glory.

Give me leave now to ask you ferioufly,
whether thefe which you have here fee
down under the Title of Fundamental
Doctrines, are fuch (when reduced to Pro-
pofitions) that every one of them is required
to be believed to make a Man a Chriltian^
and fuch, as without the adual Belief
thereof, he cannot be faved. If they are
not fo, every one of them, you may call
them Fundamental Do^rines as much as you
pleafe, they are not of thofe Doctrines of
Faith I was fpeaking of, which are only

S fuch

^74 -^ Vindication of the

fuch as require to be adually believed to
make a Man a Chriftian. If you fay, fomc
of them are fuch necelTary Points of Faith,
and others not, you by this fpecious Lift of
well-founding, but unexplained Terms
arbitrarily colleded, only make good what
I have faid, viz. That the necelTary Ar-
ticles of Faith are in theEpiftles promifcu-
oufly delivered with other Truths, and
therefore they cannot be diftinguilhed but
by fome other Mark than being barely
found in the Epiftles. If you fay, that
they are all of them necelTary Articles of
Faith, I fhall then deiire you to reduce
them to fo many plain Doctrines, and then
prove them to be every one of them required
to be believed by every Chriftian Man to
make him a Member of the Chriftian
Church. For to begin with the firft, 'tis
not enough to tell us, as you do. That the
Corruption and Degeneracy of Human Ma-
ture, with the true Original of it (the De-
fection of our fii-p Barents) the Propagation
of Sin and Mortality, is one of the great
Heads of Chrijiian Divinity, But you are
to tell us what are the Propofitions we are
required to believe concerning this Matter :
For nothing can be an Article of Faith,
but ibme Propofition ; and then it will
remain to be proved, that thefe Articles
lire necelTiry to be believed to Salvation.
The Apoftles Creed was taken, in the lirft
Ages of the Church, to contain all Things

ne-

Reafonablenefs of Chriftlanlty. 27^

neceflary to Salvation ; I mean, neceflary
to be believed : But you have now better
thought on it, and are pleafed to enlarge
it, and we, no doubt, are bound to fubmit
to your Orthodoxy.

The Lift of Materials for his Creed (for
the Articles are not yet formed) Mv, Edwards
clofes, p. III. with thefe Words : Thefe
are the Matters of Faith contained in the
Epiftksj and they are EJpntial and Integral
Shirts of the Gofpel itfef What, juft-
thefe ? Neither more nor lefs ? If you are
fure of it, pray let ns have them fpeedily,
for the reconciling of Differences in the
Chriftian Church which has been {o cruelly
torn about the Articles of the Chriftian
Faith, to the great Reproach of Chriftian
Charity, and Scandal of our true Religion.

Mr. Edzvards having thus, with two
learned Terms of EJpntial and Integral P3.YtSy
fufficiently proved the Matter in Queftion,
viz. That all thofe he has fet down, are
Articles of Faith necelfary to be believed
to make a Man a Chriftian, he grows warm
at my OmilTion of them. This I cannot
complain of as unnatural : The Spirit of
Creed-making always arifing from an Heat
of Zeal for our own Opinions, and warm
Endeavours, by all Ways pofftblc, to decry
and bear down thofe who differ in a Tittle
from us. What then could I expe£l more
gentle and candid, than what Mr. Edzvards
has llibjoined in thefe Words ? ^nd thercjore

S 2 ip

ijd A Vindication of the

it ts no wonder^ that our Author^ he'tngfen^
fihle of this (viz. That the Points he has
named, were Effential and Integral Parts
of the Gofpel) would not vouch faje to give us
an Ahftra^- of thofe infpired fVrifwgs \the
Epijiles~\ but faffes them by with forae Con-
tempt. Sir, when your angry Fit is over,,
and the Abatement of' your Paflion has
given way to the Return of your Sincerity^
I fhall beg you to read this PaiTage in
p. 253 of my Book. ' Thefe Holy Writers
' (^;<s. the Penmen of the Scriptures) IN-

* SPIRED from above, writ nothing

* but Truth, and in moft Places very

* weighty Truths to us now, for the Ex-
^ pounding, Clearing, and Confirming of

* the Chriftian Do<Srine, and eftablifhing

* thofe in it who had embraced it. * And
again, pag. 255. * The other Parts of
« DIVINE REVELATION are Ob-

* jeds of Faith, and are fo to be received..

* They are Truths, of which none that is
*- once known to be fuch, /. e. revealed,
' may or ought to be disbelieved. ' And
if this docs not latisfy you that I have as
high a Veneration for the Epiftles, as you
or any one can have, I require you ta
publilh to the World thofe Parages which
ftiew my Cotitempt of them. In the mean
time, I fhall defire my Reader to examine
what I have writ concerning the Epiftles,
which is all contained between p. 24.6 and
a^c? of my Book ; and then to judge

whether

Re afonahknefs of Chnik2initY» 277

whether I have made bold with the Epiftlcs
in what I have faid of them, or this Gentle-
man made bold with Truth in what he has
writ of me. Human Frailty will not, I
fee, eafily quit its Hold ; w4iat it lofes in
one Part, it will be ready to regain in an-
other, and not be hindred from taking Re-
prizals, even on the moft privileged Sort of
Men, Mr. Edwards^ who is intrenched in
Orthodoxy, and fo is as lafe in Matters of
Faith almoft as Infallibility itfelf, is yet as
apt to err as others in Matter of Fact.

But he has not yet done with me about
the Epiftles : All his fine Draught of my
flighting that Part of the Scripture will be
loft, unlefs the lalt Strokes complete it into
Suclmanijm. In his following Words you
have the Conclufion of the whole Matter.
His Words are thefe ; ^lui more effeclaUy
if I viay Conj entire (by all means, Sir,
Conjeduring is your proper Talent ; you
have hitherto done nothing elfe ^ and I
, I will fay that for you, you have a lucky
Hand at it) he doth this ft. e. pafs by the
Epiftles zvith Conte?nptJ hecatij'e he knew
that there are jb many and frequent^ and
thofe Jb tlluftrtous and eminent Atteftations
to the Doarhie of the ever-to-he-adored
Tr'mity^ in thefe t<.piftles. Truly, Sir, if
you will permit me to know what I know,
as well as you do allow yourfelf to con-
jedure what you pleafe, you are out for
this once. The Reafon why I went not
S 3 through

ay^ A Vindication of the

through the Epiflles, as I did the Gofpels
and the A^Sy was that very Reafon I
printed, and that will be found fo fufficient
a one to all confiderate Readers, that I
believe they will think you need not ftrain
your Conjedures for another. And if you
think it be fo eafy to diftinguilh Funda-
mentals from not Fundamentals in the
Epiftles, I defire you would try your Skill
again, in giving the World a perfed Col-
lection of Propofitions out of the Epiftles,
that contain all that is required, and no
more than what is abfolutely required to
be believed by all Chriftians, without
which Faith they cannot be of Chrift's
Church. For I tell you, notwithftanding
the Shew you have made, you have not
yet done it, nor will you affirm that 3'ou
have.

His next Page, viz. 112. is made up of
the fame, which he calls, Not Uncharita-
ble Conjedures. I expound^ he fays, J-ohn
xiv. ^, 2^c. after the Antttr'mitarian Mode :
And I make Chrift and Adam to he Sons of
God, In the fame Senfe, and by their Birth,
as the Racovians generally do. I know not
but it may be true, that the Antltr'in'itarians
and Racovians underftand thofe Places as I do ;
76ut 'tis more than I know that they do ib,
1 took not my Senfe of thofe Texts from
thofe Writers, but from the Scripture itfelf,
giving Light to its own Meaning, by one
"place compared v,ath another : What in this

R.ea/onahkmfs ^Chriftianity. 27^

way appears to me its true Meaning, I
fliall not decline, becaufe I am told, that
it is ^o underftood by the Racovtans^ whom
I never yet read ; nor embrace the con-
trary, though the GeneraHty of Divines I
more converfc with, ftiould cieclare for it. If
the Senfe wherein I underftand thofe Texts,
be a Miftake, I fhail be beholden to you if
you will fet me right. But they are not
Popular Authorities, or Frightful Names,
whereby I judge of Truth or Falfhood.
You will now, no doubt, applaud your
Conjectures ; the Point is gained, and I am
openly a Sochinin^ fince I will not difown
that I think the Son of God was a Phrafe
that among the yews in our Saviour's Time
was ufed for the Meffiah^ thoiigh the Soci-
mans underftand it in the lame Senfe ;
and therefore I niuft certainly be of their
Perfuafion in every thing elle. 1 admire
the Acutenefs, Force, and Fairnefs of your
Reafoning, and lb I leave you to triumph
in your Conjefhires. Only 1 muft defire
you to take Notice, that that Ornament of
our Church, and every way Eminent
Prelate, the late Archbifhop of Cauterhiiry^
underftood that Phrafe va the fame Senfe
that I do, without being a Sociman. You
may read what he fays concerning Natba^
nac\ in his lirft Sermon of Shicentyy
lately publiflied. His Words are thefc.
f, 4. And being fatisfcd that he [our
S^viourl zvas the MtJJiah^ he p'-ejeiitly
S 4 o^-vrndi

aSo ^Vindication of the

owned hhnfor ftich^ calling him the SON
OF GO By and the King o/Ifracl.

Though this Gentleman know my
Thoughts as perfedly as if he had for
feverai Years paft lain in my Bofom, yet
he is mightily at a Lois about my Perfon :
As if it at all concerned the Truth con-
tained in my Book, what Hand it came
from. However, the Gentleman is mightily
perplexed about the Author. Why, Sir ?
What if it were writ by a Scribler of Bar-
thclomew Fair Drolls, with all that Flourilh
of Declamatory Rhetorick, and all that
Smartnefs of Wit and Jcft about Capt. ^om^
Umtanansy Units, and Cyphers , £vc. which
are to be found between 115 and 123
Pages of a Book, that came out during the
merry Time of Rope-Dancing, and Puppet-
Piays ? What is Truth, would, I hope,
neverthelefs be Truth in it, however oddly
fpruced up by fuch an Author : Though,
perhaps, 'tis likely fome would be apt to
fay, fach Merriment became not the Gra-
vity of my Subject, and that I writ not
in the Stile of a Graduate in Divinity. I
confeis, (as Mr. Edwards rightly fays) my
Fault lies on the other Side, in a want of
Tivacity and Elevation : And I cannot
wonder, that one of his Character and
Palate, lliould find out and complain of my
^latnefsy which has fo over-charged my
Book with plain and direct Texts of Serip-^
Jure, in ^ Matter capg.ble of no other

Proofs,

ReafonahknefsofC\m^\2im.tY. 281

Proofs. But yet I mull acknowledge his
Excefs of Civility to me ; he fhews mc
more Kindnefs than I could exped or wifh,
fince he prefers what I fay to him myfelf,
to what is offered to him from the Word
of God ; and makes me this Compliment,
that I begin to mend, about the Clofe ; i,e,
when I leave off quoting of Scripture :
And the dull Work was done, of going
through the H'tflory of the Evaiigelijis and
A^s^ which he computes, />. loj. to take
up three Quarters of my Book. Does not
all this deferve at leaft, that I Ihould, in
return, take fbme care of his Credit ? Which
I know not how better to do, than by en-
treating him, that when he takes next in
hand fuch a Subjecl as this is, wherein the
Salvation of Souls is concerned, he would
treat it a little more ferioufly, and with a
little more Candor ; left Men fhould find
in his Writings another Caufe of Atheifrn,
which in his Treatife he has not thought
fit to mention. OJientation of TVtt in ge-
neral, he has made a Canje of Athetfm^
f. 28. But the World will tell him, That
frothy light Difcourfes, concerning the
fcrious Matters of Religion, and Oflenta-
tion of trifling and misbecoming Wit in
thofe who come as Ambaffadors from God,
under the Title of Succeffors of the
Apoftles, in the great Commillion of the
Gofpel, is none of the leaft Caufes of
Atheifrn,

Some

a82 A Vindication of the

Some Men have fo peculiar a Way of
Arguing, that one may fee it influences
them in the repeating another Man's Rea-
foning, and feldom fails to make it their
own. In the next Paragraph I find thefe
Words ; What snakes him contend for one
jingle Arttcle^ with the Exdufon of all the
ref? He fret ends it is this^ That all Men
€Ught to underfiand their Religion. This,
I confefs, is a Reafbning I did not think
of; nor would it hardly, I fear, have been
ufed but by one, who had firft took up
his Opinion from the Recommendation of
Fafhion or Intereft, and then fought
Topicks to make it good. Perhaps the
Deference due to your Character, excufed
you from the Trouble of quoting the Page
where I 'pretend^ as you fay; and it is fo
little like my way of Reafoning, that I
fhall not look for it in a Book where I
remember nothing of it, and where, with-
out your Diredion, I fear the Reader will
fcarce find it. Though I have not that
Vivacity of thought ^ that Elevation of Mind ^
which Mr. Edwards demands, yet common
Senfe would have kept me from contend-
ing, that there is but one Article, becauie
all Men ought to underftand their Religion.
Numbers of Propofitions may be harder
lobe remembred, but 'tis the Abftrufenefs
of the Notions, or Obfcurity, Inconfiftency,
or Doubtfulnefsof the Terms or Expreffions
that makes them hard to be undqrftood ;

And

Reafonahknefs of Chriftianlty. 283

And one fingle Propofition may more per-
plex the Underftanding than Twenty
other. But where did you find / con-
tend for one Jingle Article^ fb as to cxclada
all the refi r* You might have remembrcd,
that I fay, p, 41. That the Article of the
One only true God, was alio neceffary to
be believed. This might have fatisfied
you, that I did not lb contend jor one
Article of Faith, as to be at Defiance with
jnore than one. However you infill on
the Word one with great Vigour, from
_f. 108 to 121. And you did well, you
had elfe loft all the Force of that killing
Stroke, referved for the Clofe, in that
Iharp J eft of Unitarians^ and a Clinch or
two more of great Moment.

Having found, by a careful Perufal of
the Preachings of our Saviour and his
Apoftles, that the Religon they propofed,
confifted in that Ihort, plain, cafy and in-
telligible Summary which I fet down, f. 257
in thefe Words : *- Believing Jefus to be

* the Saviour promifcd, and taking him
' now raifcd from the Dead^ and confti-

* tuted the Lord and Judge of Men, to be
^ their King and Ruler.'' I could not for-
bear magnifying the Wifdom and Good-
nefs of God (which infinitely e.'^cceds the
Thoughts of ignorant, vain, and narrow-
minded Man) in thefe following Words:

* The All-nicrcifiil God feems herein to

* have confulted the Poor of this V, orld,

* and

a84 A Vindication of the

*- and the Bulk of Mankind ; THESE
< ARE ARTICLES that the Labouring
* and Illiterate Man may comprehend/
Having thus plainly mentioned more than
one Article, I might have taken it amifs,
that Ivlr. Edwards fhould be at fb much Pains
as he is, to blame me for contending for one
Article, becaufe I thought more than one
could not be underftood ; had he not had
manvfine Things to fay in his Declamation
upon on^j Article, which affords him fo much
Matter, that lefs than Seven Pages could
not hold it. Only here and there, as Men
of Oratory often do, he miftakes the Bu-
finefs, as ^. 1 1 5. where he fays, / urge,
that there mufl he nothing in Chriflianity
that is nut plain an exactly levelled to all
Mens Mother jVit, I defire to know where
I faid fo, or that the very manner of every
thing in Chrifiianlty muji he clear and in-
teUigibky ei:iery thing rauft he prefently com-
prehended by the ^JDeahefi Noddle^ or elfe it's
710 Part of Religion^ efpecially of Chriftianity \
as he has it, f. 1 1^. I am lure it is not in^,
216, &c- and 247, &c, of my Book : Thefe,
therefore to convince him that I am of an-
other Opinion, I fhall defire fome body to
read Mr. Edwards : For he himfelf reads
my Book with fuch Spectacles, as make
him find Meanings and Words in it, neither
of which I put there. He fhould have
remembred, that I fpeak not of all the
Dodrines of Chriflianity, nor all that is

publiilied

Reafonahknefs of Chriftian'ity. aSj

publifhed to the World in it ; butof thofe
Truths only, which are abfolately re-
quired to be believed to make any one a
Chriftian. And thefe I find are io plain
and eafy, that I fee no Realbn why every
body, with me, fhould not magnify the
Goodnefs and Condefcenlion of the Al-
mighty ; who having out of his free Grace
propofed a new Law of Faith to finful and
loft Man, hath by that Law required no
harder Terms, nothing as > abfolutely ne-
ceflary to be believed, but what is fuited
to vulgar Capacities, and the Comprehen-
fion of Illiterate Men.

You are a little out again, p, 1 18, where

you Ironically fay, as if it were my Senfe,

Let us have hut one Article^ though it be

with De-fiance to all the reft. Jefting apart.

Sir. This is a fcrious Truth, That what

our Saviour and his Apoftles preached,

and admitted Men into the Church for be-^

lieving, is all that is abfolutely required

to make a Man a Chriftian. But this is

without any Defiance of all the reft^ taught

in the Word of God. This excludes not

the Belief of any of thofe many other

Truths contained in the Scriptures of the

Old and New Teftaments, which it is the

Duty of every Chriftian to ftudy, and

thereby build himfelf up on our moft Holy

Faith ; receiving with liedfaft Belief, and

ready Obedience all thofe things which the

Spirit of Truth hath therein revealed.

Bu:

^2.^6 A Vindication of the

But that all the reft of the infpired Writings,
or, if you pleafe, Airtlclesy are of equal
t^ecejjity to be believed to make a Man a
Chriftian, with what was preached by our
Saviour and his ApoiUes ; that I deny.
A Man, as I have ftiewn, may be a Chriftian
and a Believer, without actually believing
them ; becaufe thofe whom our Saviour
and his Apoftles, by their Preaching and
Difcourfes, converted to the Faith, were
made Chriftians and Believers, barely upon
the receiving what they preached to
them.

I hope it is no Derogation to the Chri-
ftian Religion, to fay, that the Funda-
mentals of it, /. e. all that is neceiTary to
be believed in it by all Men, is eafy to be
underftood by all Men. This I thought
my felf Authorized to fay by the very eafy,
and very intelligible Articles inlifted on by
our Saviour and his Apoftles, which con-
tain nothing but what could be underftood
by the Bulk of Mankind \ a Term which,
I know not why, Mr. Edwards^ f. 117. is
offended at, and thereupon is, after his
Fafhion, fliarp upon me about Captain
1^0771 and his Myrmidons^ for whom, he tells
me, I am going to make a Religion. The
making of Religions and Greeds I leave to
others. I only let down the Chriftian Re-
ligion, as I find our Saviour and his Apoftles
preached it, and preached it to, and left it
for, the ignorant and wikjnied Multitude.

For

Reajonahlenejs of Chiiftianky. 2S7

For I hope you do not think, how con-
temptibly foever you fpeafc of the F'enera-
hk Mob^ as you are pleafed to dignify
them, j). 117, that the Bulk of Mankind,
or, in your Phrafe, the Rabble^ are not con-
cerned in Religion, or ought not to under-
ftand it, in order to their Salvation. Nor
are you, 1 hope, acquainted with any, who
are of that Mujcov'tte Divine's Mind, \vho,
to one, that was talking to him about
Religion, and the other World, replied,
That for the Czar indeed, and Bojars^
they might be permitted to raife their
Hopes to Heaven ; but that for fuch poor
Wretches as he, they were not to think of
Salvation.

I remember the Pharifees treated the
common People with Contempt, and faid.
Have any of the Rulers or of the Pharifees
believed in him f But this People^ who hiow'
eth not the Law^ are curfed. But yet
thefe, who in the Cenfure of the Pharifees
were curfed, were fome of the Poor^ or,
' if you pleafe to have it fo, the 3{ob^ to
whom the Gojpel was preached by our
Saviour, as he tells John's Difciples, Matt,
xi. 5.

Pardon me, Sir, that I have here laid
thefe Examples and Confiderations before
you, a little to prevail with you, not to
let loofe fuch a Torrent of Wit and Elo-
quence againft the Bulk of Mankind an-
other Time, and that for a meer Fancy of

your

a88 A Vindication of the

your own : For I do not fee how they here
came in your Way ; but that you were
refblved to fet up fomethingto have a Fling
at, and fhew your Parts, in what you call
your different Strain^ though befides the
Purpofe. I know nobody was going to
ash the Mob what you mufi believe : And
as for me, I fuppofe you will take my
Word for it, that I think no Mub (no, not
your Venerable Mob) is to be asked what I
am to believe ; nor that Articles of Faith
are to be received by the Vote of Clubmen^
or any other Sort of Men you will name
inftead of them.

In the following Words, fag, 115. you
ask. Whether a Man may not under [land
thofe Articles of Faith which you mentioned
out of the Gofpels and Eplftles^ If they be
explained to hhn^ as well as that one I f peak
of ? 'Tis as the Articles are, and as they
are explained. There are Articles that
have been fome Hundreds of Years ex-
plaining, which there are many, and thofe
not of the moft illiterate, who profefs they
do not yet underftand. And to inflance
in no other but he defcended Into Hdl^ the
Learned are not yet agreed in the Senfe of
it, tho' great Pains have been taken to ex-
plaui it.

Next, I ask, who are to explain your
Articles ? The Papifts will explain Ibme of
them one way, and the Reformed another :
Tht Renionftrants and Anti-remonftrants

give

Re.ifomhktiefs o/'Ghriftianlty. iS^

give them different Senles : And probably
the Trinitarians and Unitarians will profels,
that they underftand not each other's Ex-
plications. And at laft, I think it may be
doubted whether any Articles, which need
Mens Explications, can be fo clearly and
certainly underftood, as one which is made
lb very plain by the Scripture itfelf, as not
to need any Explication at all : Such is
this, that Jelus is the Mefftab. For though
you learnedly tell us that MeJJlah is a Hc^
brew Word, and no better underftood by
the Vulgar than Arahtck^ yet I giicfs it is
fo fully explained in the New Teftament,
and in thole Places I have quoted out of
it, that no body, who can underftand any
ordinary Sentence in the Scripture, can
be at a Lofs about it : And *tis plain it
needs no other Explication than what our
Saviour and the Apoftles gave it in their
Preaching ; for as they preached it, Mea
received it, and that fufficed to make them
Believers.

To conclude, when I heard that this
learned Gentleman, who had a Name for
his Study of the Scriptures, and Writings
on them, had done me the Honour to con-
iider my Treatife, I promifed myfelf, that
his Degree, Calling, and Fame in the
World, v/ould have fecured to me fome-
thing of Weight in his Remarks, which
might have convinced me of my Miilakes*;
and if he had found any in it, juftilied my
T quieting

ipo ji Vindication of the

quitting of them : But having examined
what in his concerns my Book, I, to my
Wonder, find, that he has only taken
Pains to give it an ill Name, without fo
much as attempting to refute any one Po-
iition in it, how much foever he is pleafed
to make a Noife againft feveral Propofiti-
ons, which he might be free with, becaufe
they are his own ; and I have no reafon to
take it amifs, if he has fhewn his Zeal and
Skill againft them : He has been {o favour-
able to what is mine, as not to ufe any
one Argument againft any Paflage in my
Book, This, which I take for a publick
Teftimony of his Approbation, I Ihall re-
turn him my Thanks for, when I know
whether I owe it to his Miftake, Con-
viclion, or Kindnefs. But if he w^it only
for his Bookfeller's Sake, he alone ought to
thank him.

A FTER the foregoing Papers were fent to
■^^ the Prefs, the fFttneffes to Chnfttamty^
of the Reverend and Learned Dr. Patrick^
now Lord Biftiop of Ely^ fell into my
Hands, I regretted the not having ^ztn \t
before I writ my Treatife of the Reafonahh~
nefs of Chrifiianityy K.Q. I fhould then
poffibly, by the Light given me by fo
good a Guide, and lb great a Man, with
more Confidence direclly have fallen into
the Knowledge of Chriftianity ; which ia
;he Way I fought it, in its Source, rec^uired

the

1

Reajonahknejs o/" Chriftlanity. 25)1

the comparing of Texts with Texts, and
the more than once reading over the Evan-
geUfts and Jlcfsy befides other Parts of
Scripture. But I had the ill Luck not to
fee that Treatife till fo few Hours fince,
that I have had time only to read as far as
the End of the Introdu<^ion, or firft
Chapter ; and there Mr. Edwards may find,
that this pious Bifhop (whofe Writings
ihevv he Studies, as well as his Life, that
he Believes, the Scriptures) owns what
Mr. Edwards is pleafcd to call a ^huRhU
Conceit^ which, he fays, 1 gwe over and over
again in theje formal JVords^ viz. I'hat no-
thing is required to he believed by any Chrifiian
Man but this^ That Jefus is the MeJJlah.

The Liberty Mr. Edzvards takes in other

Places deferves not it fhould be taken upon

his Word, that thefe formal H^ords are to

be found over and over again in my Book,

unlefs he had quoted the Pages. But I

will fet him down the formal Words which

are to be found in this Reverend Prelate's

Book, />. 14. To be the Son of God^ and to

be Chrijl^ being but different Exprejfons of

the fame T'hing, And p. i o. // is the very

fame 7'hing to believe that Jefus is the Chrifly

and to believe that Jefus is the Son oj God ;

exprejs it how you f-leafe, fhis ^LONE

is the Faith which can Regenerate a Many

and put a Divine Spirit into him ; that is,

piakes him a Conqueror over the jVorhl., as

fefus u-as, I have quoted only thefe few

T 2, Words j

1^2 A Vindication of the

Words ; but Mr. Edwards^ if he pleafes, or
any body elfe may, in tliis firft Chapter,
fatisfy himfelf more fully, that the Defign
of it is to fhew, that in our Saviour's time.
Son oj God was a known and received Name
or Appellation of the Mejjiah^ and fo ufed
in the Holy Writers. And that the Faith
that was to make Men Chriftians, was only
the believing that Jejtis h the MeJJiah.
•'Tis to the Truth of this Propofition, that
he examines his Wltnejps^ as he fpcaks
f. 11. And this, if I miftake not, in his
Epiftle Dedicatory, he calls Chrijitanity^
Fol. A. 5. where he calls them ffitneffes to
Chr'iftiamty, But thefe two Propofitions,
z;/^.'^ That' TO AT of God in the Gofpel ftands
f jr Meffiah ; and that the Faith which
alone makes Men Chriftians, is the believ-
ing Jefiis to he the MeJJtah^ difpleafes Mr.
Edwards fo much in my Book, that he thinks
himfelf authorized from them to charge me
with Socimamfm^ and want of Sincerity.
How he will be plealed to treat this
Reverend Prelate whilft he is alive (for the
Dead may with good Manners be made
bold with) muft be left to his decifive Au-
thority. This I am fure, which way foever
he determine, he muft, for the future,
either afford more good Company, or
iaircr Quarter.

FINIS.